You know what’s better than being .500? Well, that’s being above .500. With last night’s 4-3 win over the Sioux City Explorers, the RailCats have a winning record, something that hasn’t happened in 3 years. The Cardiac Cats were in full swing last night. If you missed the game, I would recommend going back and watching it. Here are 9 things I saw from last night’s win!
1st Inning – The RailCats started off very slowly, not getting a base runner until the 4th inning with two outs, when Elvis Peralta broke the streak of 11 straight outs with a double.
2nd Inning – For the second straight game, the Explorers scored first on a Dillon Tatum solo home run that gave them a 1-0 lead in the 3rd inning.
3rd Inning – In the 4th inning, after Elvis Peralta hit his double with two outs, Joe Suozzi grounded the ball to third baseman Zane Denton. His throw sailed out of his hand, flying over first baseman Alberto Osuna’s head, and Elvis Peralta scored from second base. Joe Suozzi was credited with the RBI to tie the game at one apiece.
4th Inning – The Explorers retook the lead in the 5th inning. Peyton Long gave up his first walk of the season to Elliot Good. After Dillon Tatum struck out, the Explorers got four consecutive hits. Henry George started the rally, and Zac Vooletich drove in Elliot Good to make it 2-1. Braulio Vasquez singled to bring in Henry George, making the score 3-1, and Alberto Osuna also singled. I thought this was going to be the turning point of the game. The RailCats had other ideas.
5th Inning – In the 6th inning, Cooper Weiss led off with a double, Elvis Peralta walked, and Joe Suozzi singled to bring in Cooper Weiss to make the score 3-2. Camryn Williams laid down a bunt to third for a sacrifice as Peralta moved to third, and Williams was almost safe at first. Nick Podkul hit a sac fly to left, allowing Peralta to score and tie the game at 3 apiece. Jake Guenther got his second single of the game, and with Joe Suozzi getting the wave around, he scored from second. That ended up being the game-winning run and hit, giving the RailCats a 4-3 lead.
6th Inning – After Peyton Long got the first two outs, Dillon Tatum singled as Elvis Peralta pulled his mitt up just a little too early. Peyton Long then gave up his second walk to Henry George. Joan Valdez came in relief with two outs and runners on first and second. Zac Vooletich grounded the ball back to Valdez. The reason I’m noting this is because Valdez went on a full sprint to first. I thought he was going to underhand it to Suozzi because he had time, but Valdez kicked it into another gear and recorded a one-unassisted out. Most times, a one-unassisted out is when the pitcher tags the runner. Never have I seen a pitcher take off in a dead sprint to get a force out at first—well, maybe in a Little League game.
7th Inning – Korry Howell was ejected after he grounded the ball to third baseman Zane Denton. It was a very close play at first, and it looked like Howell just beat it out, but first base umpire Jeff Beaman called him out. Howell squatted down with his hands on his head and started to lose his cool, mouthing off at Beaman, and he was tossed. This is the second straight game someone has been ejected, as manager Steve Montgomery was tossed in Tuesday’s game after an overturned safe call.
8th Inning – The 9th inning felt a lot like last Friday night’s game against the Cleburne Railroaders. Jacob Coats was on the mound, and on his first pitch he drilled Dillon Tatum in the back of the head with a fastball. Tatum walked away under his own power. Jackson Mayo entered as a pinch runner. Tatum stole second base, and Coats walked Henry George to put the winning run on base.
With Zac Vooletich coming up to the plate, I was a little surprised that he had the bunt sign. Coming into tonight’s game, he had a .294 batting average, and Coats was struggling to find the strike zone. However, Vooletich bunted the ball straight to Nick Podkul, who was playing about three feet onto the grass. Podkul got the ball to Cooper Weiss, who threw to first, where Elvis Peralta was covering for a very rare 5-6-4 double play.
With two outs and the tying run on third, Coats walked Braulio Vasquez, who stole second. That set up a situation where a hit would win the game. Alberto Osuna worked the count full, and Jacob Coats struck him out looking. The video feed was freezing quite a bit in that last inning, so I believe it was a fastball outside. However, home plate umpire Alex Endell wasn’t calling that pitch consistently, and Steve Montgomery was heated after Jacob Coats earned his fourth save of the year. This inning had me on the edge of my seat, and I needed an oxygen mask after the dust settled.
9th Inning – I don’t think I can mention this enough, but I believe this RailCats team has the best bullpen in the league. It was another game where the bullpen came in and bent a couple of times but didn’t break or give up a run. Right now, the main four relief pitchers who come into these situations have a combined ERA of 1.04. Those pitchers are Denson Hull, Joan Valdez, Dawson Lane, and Jacob Coats.
Extra Inning – Another game where the offense struggled to start at the beginning, but came through in clutch situations, going 2-for-4 with a walk, a sac bunt, a sac fly, and two RBIs with runners in scoring position—something the RailCats struggled with mightily at the beginning of the season. Being clutch is always a good recipe for success, but eventually the bullpen will cave, and the same four pitchers won’t always be available. I would like to see the offense take control of more games to give the bullpen a break from high-pressure innings.
With last nights win the RailCats take sole posession of 3rd place in the East as the Chicago Dogs lost 4-2 to Milwaukee, and 5th in the League. They look to sweep the Explorers at 6:35.
219 ‘Cat Player of the Game: Jake Guenther went 3-for-4 with one strikeout. All three hits were singles, but he drove in the game-winning run in the sixth.
219 'Cats 
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