RailCats BLACKWELL NAMED NORTHERN LEAGUE PITCHER OF THE MONTH FOR JUNE

July 1, 2007 Contact: Tom Nichols at (219) 882-2255

Gary, Ind.—The Gary SouthShore RailCats Professional Baseball Club announced today that right-handed relief pitcher Chad Blackwell has been chosen Northern League Pitcher of the Month for June.

Blackwell, who received Pitcher of the Week honors earlier in the season (May 28th - June 3rd), just had his 20.1 consecutive scoreless innings streak snapped Saturday night. To date, it is the longest streak of the year in the Northern League. On the season, Blackwell is 4-0 with a 1.23 ERA and two saves. He is three innings shy of qualifying for the league lead in ERA.

In the month of June, the RailCats reliever was 2-0 with a 0.46 ERA. He walked only two batters while striking out 21 over 19-plus innings. The only run he yielded in the month
was on June 30th versus the Winnipeg Goldeyes. He has been nearly un-hittable at home, going 3-0 with a 0.60 ERA. He has allowed only 11 base runners in 15 innings at the U.S. Steel Yard.

The native of Ft. Lauderdale, FL, 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. He

The 6-0, 155-pound right-hander, played collegiately 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. a 2.78 ERA in 16 games out of the bullpen.

More Information: The Gary SouthShore RailCats are a Professional Minor League Baseball Team serving Northwest Indiana and Chicago's south suburbs. For the last four years, they have been chosen "Best Local Spectator Sport" by Northwest Indiana Business Quarterly. Their 96 game schedule includes 47 home games at beautiful U. S. Steel Yard, an award-winning 6,000 seat state-of-the-art facility located next to the Indiana Toll Road (I-90) with easy access to I-65.

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