FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: (June 12, 2017)
Contact: Jared Shlensky
[email protected]
(Article written by Austin Anderson, Broadcast/Media Relations Assistant)

Box Score

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. — The Gary SouthShore RailCats fell to the Sioux Falls Canaries by a score of 8-2 on Monday evening in the first meeting of the series between the two teams. Monday’s loss dropped Gary to 1-7 in the opening game of a series this year.  

Gary (13-12) opened the scoring in the top half of the second inning when Ryan Fitzgerald hit a solo shot; his second homer in three days.

Sioux Falls (8-15) answered with a run of their own in the bottom of the second when Patrick Fiala drove in Blake Schmidt on a sacrifice fly. Schmidt reached base via a single and moved to third on a Ty Morrison single to even the score at one.

The score stayed the same until the top half of the fifth inning when Alex Crosby hit a two-out RBI single to score Chase Harris. Harris reached base on a fielders’ choice and advanced to second on a Colin Willis single before scoring on Crosby’s hit to give the RailCats a 2-1 lead.

The Canaries took the lead in the bottom half of the fifth with three runs on three separate occasions. Burt Reynold’s single, along with an error allowed Dan Motl to score the first run of the frame. Aaron Gretz’s single drove in Jabari Henry before Chris Jacobs’ RBI single brought Reynold, giving the Canaries a 4-2 advantage. In the bottom of the sixth, Henry walked with the bases loaded to score Fiala before Reynolds hit a bases-clearing double to give the Canaries a six-run lead.

Willis led all the RailCats offensively going 3-4. Fitzgerald finished 2-4 with a home run and an RBI. On the bump, Charle Rosario (2-3) was charged with the loss. The 2016 All-Star allowed four runs (three earned) on eight hits and three walks in a season-low 4.1 innings.

Jon Jones made his debut for the RailCats, pitching 3.2 innings. He allowed four earned runs on three hits, four walks, and four strikeouts

The Canaries’ Grady Wood (1-1) pitched five innings, giving up two runs (one earned) on eight hits, no walks, and five strikeouts in the win             

The RailCats resume their four-game road trip on Tuesday at 7:05 p.m. Southpaw Alex Gunn (1-2, 3.49) counters against Sioux Falls’ Troy Marks (0-4, 6.86).

Gary returns home to U.S. Steel Yard on Monday, June 19 for the start of a three-game series vs. Sioux City. First pitch against the Explorers is at 7:10 p.m. Monday’s game is another MetroPCS Monday. Visit your nearest Northwest Indiana MetroPCS location for a reserved seat ticket voucher to Monday’s game.

Jared Shlensky and Austin Anderson bring you all 100 RailCats games this season on WEFM (95.9FM) and online at railcatsbaseball.com. Fans can purchase tickets for RailCats home games by calling (219) 882-BALL or online at railcatsbaseball.com. The RailCats box office is open Monday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.