September 1, 2007

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Kansas City, Kansas—Saturday night was good for the Gary SouthShore RailCats, but better for the Winnipeg Goldeyes. Jay Pecci hit two home runs and Jose Yepez added a three-run blast as the RailCats defeated the Kansas City T-Bones 12-7, lifting the Goldeyes into the Northern League playoffs and eliminating Kansas City. A crowd of 9,208 attended the game at Community America Ballpark, the second largest crowd in the franchise history.

With the win, the RailCats clinched the second half title in the South Division after also winning the first half. The Northern League playoff format dictates that if the same club wins both halves in its division, it will meet the team with next best full-season record that failed to win a division half. Winnipeg claimed that wildcard spot. Kansas City, whose only route to the playoffs was to win the second half in the South Division, fell three games behind the RailCats with one game to play.

The RailCats jumped ahead in the first inning with four runs, keyed by Yepez's three-run homer off T-Bones starter Anthony Boughner (8-5). Pecci drilled a two-run shot to left in the top of the second to make it 6-0.

Kansas City answered with three runs in the bottom of the second on a bases loaded walk to Rob Watson and a two-run single by Mario Delgado to make it 6-3, but the RailCats came right back with two runs in the top of the third on an RBI ground out by Nate Price and a two-out, run-scoring single by Mike Reese to make it 8-3.

Kansas City made their second and final run at the RailCats in the bottom of the fifth, getting a two-run single from Patrick Arlis to make it 8-5, but Pecci connected on his second home run of the night in the sixth inning for the RailCats, a two-run blast to left, to make it 10-5. The homer was Pecci's fifth of the year. Gary added two more in the seventh on an infield single by Eric McNamee to bring in one run before Pecci was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to make it 12-5.

The T-Bones scored single runs in the seventh and ninth to close out the scoring.

Travis Kerber (8-7) struggled but earned the win for the RailCats, working six and two-thirds innings, allowing 11 hits and six runs with five walks and two strikeouts.

Gary will open the playoffs on Tuesday night at Winnipeg. Game two of the best-of-five series will also be played in Winnipeg on Wednesday before the series shifts to Gary for game three on Friday, September 7^th.

The RailCats meet the T-Bones in the last regular season game of the year on Sunday at 1:05 p.m. Josh Habel (12-6, 2.94) will start for Gary against Kansas City's Rick DeHart (2-4, 4.62).

Notes: The RailCats have won four straight and 12 of the last 13 games. They are 19-5 over the last 24 games...The 12 runs for the RailCats represented a 2007 team season high and the club hit three home runs in a game for the first time this year…Pecci's five runs batted in also matched the team's high for 2007…After going all season without a player connecting on two homers in the same game, Pecci and Mike Reese did it on back-to-back nights Friday and Saturday…The RailCats 28 wins in the second half marked their second highest win total in a half in team history. They won 30 games in the first half this season…The RailCats enter Sunday's action with the best full-season record in the league, one-half game better than Fargo-Moorhead.

Gary RailCats 12 (58-37)                      Kansas City T-Bones 7 (43-52)

Player AB R H BI Player AB R H BI

--------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------

McNamee, Eric 2b........... 5 2 2 1 McCallum, Geoff ss......... 5 0 1 0

Pecci, Jay ss.............. 5 2 2 5 Watson, Rob 2b............. 4 0 0 1

Blakeley, Eric 1b.......... 5 1 2 0 Delgado, Mario 1b.......... 5 0 3 2

Haake, Steve rf............ 5 2 0 0 Benjamin, Aljereau lf...... 4 1 1 0

Yepez, Jose c.............. 5 2 2 3 Pickering, Calvin dh....... 3 3 1 1

Allensworth, J cf/lf....... 4 1 1 0 Brown, Neb 3b.............. 5 1 3 0

Townsend, Tanner 3b........ 4 0 0 0 Jaros, Nick rf............. 5 1 2 0

Price, Nate dh............. 4 1 0 1 Arlis, Patrick c........... 4 0 2 2

Reese, Mike lf............. 2 0 1 1 Eggleston, Aharon cf....... 4 1 1 1

Mueller, Dale cf.......... 1 1 1 0 Boughner, Anthony p........ 0 0 0 0

Kerber, Travis p........... 0 0 0 0 Jenkins, Raymond p........ 0 0 0 0

Edsall, Steve p........... 0 0 0 0 Schlichting, Travis p..... 0 0 0 0

Core, Danny p............. 0 0 0 0

Totals..................... 40 12 11 11 Totals..................... 39 7 14 7

Score by Innings R H E

-------------------------------------------

Gary RailCats....... 422 002 200 - 12 11 0

Kansas City T-Bones. 030 020 101 - 7 14 2

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E - Delgado, M(11); Brown, N(22). DP - RailCats 1. LOB - RailCats 10; T-Bones 12. HR

- Pecci, J 2(5); Yepez, J(6); Pickering, C(18). HBP - Pecci, J; Price, N; McCallum,

G. SH - Arlis, P.

Gary RailCats IP H R ER BB SO WP BK HP IBB AB BF FO GO

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Kerber, Travis W,8-7...... 6.2 11 6 6 5 2 0 0 1 0 29 36 10 7

Edsall, Steve ............. 2.1 3 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 10 10 3 3

Kansas City T-Bones IP H R ER BB SO WP BK HP IBB AB BF FO GO

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Boughner, Anthony L,8-5... 5.1 6 10 9 6 0 0 0 0 0 23 29 8 8

Jenkins, Raymond .......... 1.0 2 2 2 0 1 0 0 1 0 5 6 2 0

Schlichting, Travis ....... 0.2 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 3 5 1 1

Core, Danny ............... 2.0 2 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 9 9 3 1

HBP - by Kerber, T (McCallum, G); by Jenkins, R (Price, N); by SchlichtingT (Pecci, J).

PB - Yepez, J.

Strikeouts - Haake, S 2; Price, N; Benjamin, A; Pickering, C; Brown, N. Walks -

McNamee, E; Blakeley, E; Haake, S; AllensworthJ; Townsend, T; Mueller, D 2; Watson,

R; Benjamin, A; Pickering, C 2; Eggleston, A.

Umpires - HP: Hank Himmanen 1B: Mike Baker 3B: Randy Bertram

Start: 7:13 PM Time: 3:07 Attendance: 9208

Tomorrow's Probables: Josh Habel (GAR) vs Rick DeHart (KCT)

Gary RailCats 1st - McNamee, E walked. Pecci, J flied out to lf.

Blakeley, E walked; McNamee, E advanced to second. Haake, S reached on a

fielding error by 1b; Blakeley, E advanced to third; McNamee, E scored. Yepez,

J homered to left field, 3 RBI; Haake, S scored, unearned; Blakeley, E scored.

AllensworthJ grounded out to ss. Townsend, T grounded out to ss. 4 runs, 1

hit, 1 error, 0 LOB.

Kansas City T-Bones 1st - McCallum, G hit by pitch. Watson, R flied out

to cf. Delgado, M singled to center field; McCallum, G advanced to third.

Benjamin, A walked; Delgado, M advanced to second. Pickering, C grounded into

double play ss to 2b to 1b; Benjamin, A out on the play. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0

errors, 2 LOB.

Gary RailCats 2nd - Price, N out at first 1b to p. Reese, M grounded out

to 3b. McNamee, E singled to right field. Pecci, J homered to left field, 2

RBI; McNamee, E scored. Blakeley, E flied out to rf. 2 runs, 2 hits, 0

errors, 0 LOB.

Kansas City T-Bones 2nd - Brown, N singled to third base, bunt. Jaros, N

singled to left field; Brown, N advanced to second. Arlis, P grounded out to c,

SAC; Jaros, N advanced to second; Brown, N advanced to third. Eggleston, A

walked. McCallum, G flied out to lf. Watson, R walked, RBI; Eggleston, A

advanced to second; Jaros, N advanced to third; Brown, N scored. Delgado, M

singled to center field, 2 RBI; Watson, R advanced to third; Eggleston, A

scored; Jaros, N scored. Benjamin, A flied out to cf. 3 runs, 3 hits, 0

errors, 2 LOB.

Gary RailCats 3rd - Haake, S walked. Yepez, J singled to left field;

Haake, S advanced to second. AllensworthJ flied out to cf; Haake, S advanced to

third. Townsend, T walked; Yepez, J advanced to second. Price, N reached on a

fielder's choice, RBI; Townsend, T out at second 2b to ss; Yepez, J advanced to

third; Haake, S scored. Reese, M singled to left field, RBI; Price, N advanced

to second; Yepez, J scored. McNamee, E popped up to ss. 2 runs, 2 hits, 0

errors, 2 LOB.

Kansas City T-Bones 3rd - Pickering, C struck out looking. Brown, N

flied out to lf. Jaros, N grounded out to ss. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0

LOB.

Gary RailCats 4th - Pecci, J grounded out to 3b. Blakeley, E flied out

to cf. Haake, S grounded out to 1b unassisted. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0

LOB.

Kansas City T-Bones 4th - AllensworthJ to lf. Mueller, D to cf for

Reese, M. Arlis, P grounded out to 3b. Eggleston, A lined out to lf. McCallum,

G singled to right field. McCallum, G advanced to second on a passed ball.

Watson, R grounded out to 3b. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.

Gary RailCats 5th - Yepez, J grounded out to ss. AllensworthJ walked.

Townsend, T lined out to lf. Price, N flied out to cf. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0

errors, 1 LOB.

Kansas City T-Bones 5th - Delgado, M popped up to 3b. Benjamin, A

singled to left field. Pickering, C walked; Benjamin, A advanced to second.

Brown, N singled to right field; Pickering, C advanced to second; Benjamin, A

advanced to third. Jaros, N infield fly to ss. Arlis, P singled to right field,

2 RBI; Brown, N advanced to second; Pickering, C scored; Benjamin, A scored.

Eggleston, A out at first 2b to p. 2 runs, 3 hits, 0 errors, 2 LOB.

Gary RailCats 6th - Mueller, D walked. McNamee, E flied out to rf.

Pecci, J homered to left field, 2 RBI; Mueller, D scored. Jenkins, R to p for

Boughner, A. Blakeley, E singled to center field. Haake, S struck out swinging.

Yepez, J flied out to rf. 2 runs, 2 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.

Kansas City T-Bones 6th - McCallum, G grounded out to 3b, bunt. Watson,

R flied out to lf. Delgado, M singled to left field. Benjamin, A struck out

swinging. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.

Gary RailCats 7th - AllensworthJ singled to left field. Townsend, T

flied out to lf. Price, N hit by pitch; AllensworthJ advanced to second.

SchlichtingT to p for Jenkins, R. Mueller, D walked; Price, N advanced to

second; AllensworthJ advanced to third. McNamee, E singled to second base, RBI;

Mueller, D advanced to second; Price, N advanced to third; AllensworthJ scored.

Pecci, J hit by pitch, RBI; McNamee, E advanced to second; Mueller, D advanced

to third; Price, N scored. Blakeley, E infield fly to 2b. Haake, S grounded out

to 2b. 2 runs, 2 hits, 0 errors, 3 LOB.

Kansas City T-Bones 7th - Pickering, C walked. Brown, N singled to right

field; Pickering, C advanced to second. Jaros, N flied out to lf. Arlis, P

flied out to cf. Eggleston, A singled to left field, RBI; Brown, N advanced to

second; Pickering, C scored. Edsall, S to p for Kerber, T. McCallum, G flied

out to cf. 1 run, 2 hits, 0 errors, 2 LOB.

Gary RailCats 8th - Core, D to p for SchlichtingT. Yepez, J reached on a

dropped fly by 3b, advanced to second. AllensworthJ grounded out to 3b.

Townsend, T lined out to lf. Price, N struck out swinging. 0 runs, 0 hits, 1

error, 1 LOB.

Kansas City T-Bones 8th - Watson, R grounded out to 3b. Delgado, M flied

out to cf. Benjamin, A grounded out to ss. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0

LOB.

Gary RailCats 9th - Mueller, D singled to center field. McNamee, E flied

out to rf. Pecci, J flied out to cf. Blakeley, E singled to center field;

Mueller, D advanced to second. Haake, S struck out, out at first c to 1b. 0

runs, 2 hits, 0 errors, 2 LOB.

Kansas City T-Bones 9th - Pickering, C homered to center field, RBI.

Brown, N struck out swinging. Jaros, N singled to shortstop. Arlis, P singled

to left field; Jaros, N advanced to second. Eggleston, A reached on a fielder's

choice; Arlis, P out at second 2b to ss; Jaros, N advanced to third. McCallum,

G fouled out to 3b. 1 run, 3 hits, 0 errors, 2 LOB.