All-star Jim Fasano drove in four runs for the Kansas City T-Bones (30-17) Friday night as they took game one of a three-game series against the Gary SouthShore RailCats (23-24), 6-1, at U.S. Steel Yard.

Fellow all-star Andrew Cruse (7-2) held Gary to just one run over seven innings of work to earn his league-leading seventh victory in the contest.  The lone RailCats run came in the third inning on an RBI single from Mike Massaro.  Cruse surrendered just six hits in the contest while striking out six and walking one.  Gary did not push a runner into scoring position after the third inning, managing just three baserunners in that span.

The T-Bones pushed two runs across against Nolan Nicholson (1-2) in the first inning for an early 2-0 lead.  Jacob Blackwood singled with one out and later scored the first run on a sacrifice fly from Fasano.  Rico Washington then scored from third on a double steal to cap off the frame.

Blackwood’s single pushed his hit streak to 12 games, matching a season-high he set earlier this season.

Fasano drove in two more runs with a single in the fifth inning to push the score to 4-1.  Nicholson left in favor of Zeb Engle immediately before Fasano’s base hit.  Nicholson was charged with four runs on six hits in four and two-thirds innings in the loss.

Fasano capped off his night with an RBI single in the seventh.  He ended the contest two-for-four and pushed his league-leading RBI total to 46 in the game.

Kansas City added their final run on a Gary error in the ninth inning.  Erik Hamren and David Parker combined to throw scoreless eighth and ninth innings respectively to close out the game for the T-Bones.

Washington finished the contest without an official at bat in five plate appearances, drawing four walks while getting hit by a pitch in the seventh inning.  The four walks ties a Northern League single-game record, last accomplished by Fasano at Schaumburg on August 7, 2008.

The win for Cruse was his fifth straight.  He has gone at least seven innings in each of those contests.

Left-hander Reid Santos (1-3, 6.07) takes the mound tomorrow night opposite Tom Thornton (1-3, 3.76) and the RailCats in game two of the series.  First pitch is set for 6:00.  Catch all the action through streaming webcast at www.tbonesbaseball.com or on the radio at KXTR 1660 AM.