The RailCats get back into the win column after beating the Kane County Cougars 10-3. With that win, they are back to a .500 record. In Friday night’s game, the RailCats put it all together with a strong outing from Peyton Long and 3 home runs from the ‘Cats. Here are 9 observations from Friday’s game.
1st Inning – The RailCats scored the first run of the game on a sac fly from Nick Podkul, scoring Elvis Peralta. After Korry Howell struck out, Elvis Peralta singled, and Camryn Williams and Jake Guenther walked to load the bases.
2nd Inning – Even though Peyton Long gave up a two-run home run in the fourth, I would say the bottom of the first was his shakiest. He gave up a single to Upshaw and hit Allen. Bottcher moved Upshaw to third on a flyout to center, and Upshaw tied the game on a wild pitch by Long.
3rd Inning – We saw newly acquired INF A.J. Orrico, who was signed on June 11th. He played second base Friday and went 1-for-3 with one run scored. He hit an RBI triple to give the RailCats a 2-1 lead in the top of the fourth and also recorded two walks.
4th Inning – The Cougars took the lead in the bottom of the fourth after a two-run home run by Zane Spinn. The ball was almost caught by Colin Summerhill as he jumped. With the way the sun was shining on the wall and the way Summerhill came down, it looked like he caught it, but a fan raised the ball, and Summerhill never showed it.
5th Inning – The RailCats answered with three more runs of their own in the fifth as Camryn Williams absolutely blasted a ball over the right-field wall. Even if the wind wasn’t blowing out, that ball was still smashed—some say it’s still flying. His homer was a two-run home run, his second of the year. Nick Podkul made it 5-3 with his team-leading sixth home run of the season.
6th Inning – In the top of the sixth, the RailCats had another offensive explosion with four runs. Korry Howell had a two-RBI double, Nick Podkul drew an RBI walk with the bases loaded, and Colin Summerhill hit an RBI sac fly to make it 9-3.
7th Inning – Colin Summerhill poured more salt in the wound as he hit his first home run as a RailCat in the top of the eighth. The ball looked like it was going foul, but it just hit the left-field foul pole. It made the final score 10-3.
8th Inning – Peyton Long had another great start. He went seven innings, giving up five hits and three earned runs while striking out six and allowing one home run. This was one of those games where he got better as it went on; he finished his start by sitting down seven consecutive Cougars in order. This was the third time in five starts that he went seven innings. It is his fourth straight win on the hill.
9th Inning – All RailCats batters reached base. Jake Guenther and Kevin Watson Jr. were the only RailCats not to record a hit. The RailCats also went 3-for-9 with four RBIs and two sac flies and walked three times with runners in scoring position.
Extra Inning – The RailCats have shown flashes of power surges in games, and this was one of them. In this game, there were only two innings where the RailCats went down in order—the second and ninth innings—showing they handled the Cougars’ pitching well and built momentum from inning to inning.
219 ‘Cat of the Game: Peyton Long – 7 innings, 5 hits, 3 runs, 3 earned runs, 6 strikeouts, and one home run allowed. If it weren’t for the wild pitch and the wind blowing out, he wouldn’t have given up a run.
219 'Cats 
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