Gary, Ind.—The Northern League announced that Gary SouthShore RailCats' pitcher Chad Blackwell received the Pitcher of the Week honors for the week ending June 3, 2007.

Blackwell, a former Kansas City Royals farmhand, appeared in four games in relief for the RailCats this week. He went 2-0 with a 1.23 ERA while also recording a save in 7.1 innings work. During the week that saw the RailCats win six straight, Blackwell hurled 6.2 consecutive scoreless innings, the second-longest active streak during the '07 Northern League season.

The 5-11, 155-pound right-hander, signed with Gary in April following his release from the Pittsburgh Pirates organization. He had been acquired by the Pirates in the deal that sent major league pitcher Mark Redman to the Royals. Entering the '07 campaign, he had posted a career 3.60 ERA appearing in 93 games, all in relief, at the single-A and double-AA levels.

The native of Ft. Lauderdale, FL (now residing in Clewiston, FL) is tied for the league lead in wins compiling a 3-0 record with a 1.93 ERA for the RailCats in '07. He played college baseball at the University of South Carolina where he led the nation in saves with 20 and earned All-American honors in 2004 while helping the Gamecocks to the College World Series and final # 3 ranking nationally.

Chad Blackwell – Player Statistics (May 28th – June 3rd)

W-L  Sv   ERA  G GS IP   H  R  ER  BB  SO  OPP AVG
2-0   1  1.23  4  0 7.1  4  1   1   3   5  .182
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The Northern League Player and Pitcher of the Week are sponsored all season long by PA-Sportsicker, the official statistic and information company for the Northern League.