Opening Day has come and gone. Not the results the RailCats were looking for, losing 12–4 to the Lake Country DockHounds. Here are 10 things I saw from tonight’s game.

1. Going into this game, the RailCats haven’t won an Opening Day game since the 2018 season, and now they’ll have to wait until 2027 to change that.
2. The offense was nonexistent until the fifth, when Cooper Weiss drew a walk. The RailCats scored three runs in the sixth. Elvis Peralta drove in Jake Guenther and Korry Howell with a single, and Cooper Edwards drew a bases‑loaded walk to score Kevin Watson Jr.
3. Deyni Olivero had a rough outing, pitching only 2.1 innings and giving up nine hits, eight runs, one walk, and recording two strikeouts. Lake Country did a nice job of finding holes in the defense to get on base, and a couple of shaky defensive plays led to Deyni leaving pitches in spots for the DockHounds to feast on. He also gave up a couple of home runs that would have been outs in almost any other ballpark, besides maybe Cleburne’s.
4. We saw Joe Suozzi leave the game in the second due to what looked like a wrist injury during a play at first base. It showed why it’s important to have players who can move all around the field: Colin Summerhill started as the catcher but had to move to right field, Jake Guenther moved from right field to first base, and Cooper Edwards came in to catch.
5. Matt Reitz came into the game to stop the bleeding after the DockHounds scored seven runs in the third. He looked really good on the mound; he didn’t strike anyone out, but he got himself out of jams. In the fifth, he got Carreras to fly out to Kevin Watson Jr., but then gave up a single to Hernandez and a ground‑rule double to Mears. Zimmerman grounded a ball to Oliver Basabe, who smartly kept Hernandez close before getting Zimmerman out at first. Matt did load the bases after hitting Blomgren, but he got Nelson to ground out to Basabe, who stepped on third to get out of the inning. After that inning, he only walked and hit one batter. He puts the ball in play and relies on his defense to make plays.
6. Jake Hoover made his professional debut on the mound tonight. He was the RailCats’ Opening Day shortstop last year, but talked with pitching coach Kent Willis and manager Jeff Isom about trying to make it as a pitcher and had to compete for a spot in spring training. The results weren’t what he wanted this time: he recorded just two outs, allowing four runs on three hits, walking two and striking out one. Two of those hits were home runs, including a three-run blast from Carreras. Hoover showed a good slider and a fastball in the low 90s, but without consistent command that’s playing with fire against a lineup like the DockHounds, and they burned him for it. If he can find his control, though, he has a chance to become a useful arm who can eat innings in games that get out of hand. He’s still a work in progress, but I wouldn’t give up on him yet.
7. Cade Hermann made his professional debut and quietly turned in a solid outing, working 1.1 innings while allowing just one hit and one walk. Against a lineup that had been launching home runs left and right, he kept the DockHounds in check — exactly what the RailCats needed. One thing that stood out, though, was how often he seemed to cross up Cooper Edwards, which is unusual given how well Cooper normally commands the game. You’d imagine they’ll spend some extra time together getting on the same page with the signs, especially if Suozzi ends up missing a couple of games.
8. Jake Guenther was a highlight of the offense tonight. He went 2-for-4 and delivered the RailCats’ first home run of the season, a seventh-inning shot that cut the deficit to 8–4. He also scored their first run after Peralta’s two-run single in the sixth.This is exactly the type of game you want to see from Guenther. He’s not going to hit a home run every night, but his single went to the opposite field, which tells me he’s not just selling out for power — he’s using the whole field. A lefty with pop who’s willing to drive the ball the other way will keep teams guessing.
9. All of the DockHounds’ runs tonight came on home runs. That lineup is built perfectly for their ballpark. On the broadcast, Andrew Mild brought up launch angle, and it really stood out how often DockHounds hitters get the ball in the air — especially when RailCats pitchers work down in the zone. The lower the pitch, the more likely it seems to leave the yard. Over the next couple of games, the RailCats pitching staff has to keep the DockHounds guessing so they can’t sit on one pitch or location. They’ll need to attack this lineup and stay unpredictable. The more pitches the DockHounds see, the better they get — and they’ll make you pay for mistakes.

Extra Innings – The RailCats came out not ready to play and looked disorganized, but as the game went on they looked much better. I won’t be too concerned about the defense if they play like they did after the 3rd. Hitting can be contagious, as we saw in the 6th, but when you go down in order all the way up to the 5th, you’re putting yourself in a severe hole that’s hard to climb out of. If you take out the 3rd and 7th, the score could’ve been 4–1 ’Cats, but if you took out the 6th for the RailCats, we might be playing extra innings. If they can limit those blow-up innings, this team can be a lot better. We may have a new manager, but you can still see the same ghosts that have haunted the team over the past four seasons.

Non-game related: Going forward, if I’m able to sit down and watch the games, I’ll share my 9-inning observations. But with a work schedule that fluctuates, I will miss some games.

This year I also want to help local baseball programs by donating $1 for every home run the RailCats hit. I need your help choosing a program. If you have a program you’d like me to donate to, either DM me on social media or send me an email at 219cats@219cats.com.

Thank you for taking time to read this! Go ‘Cats