GARY, IN. 12-16-2010 – The Gary SouthShore RailCats unveiled their 2011 schedule today and will begin the inaugural 100-game season in the American Association at the Grand Prairie Air Hogs on May 12.  The ‘Cats first play at beautiful U. S. Steel Yard when the archrival Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks come to town on Thursday, May 20 for a 7:10 p.m. contest.

For the first time, the American Association’s regular season will be 100 games in 2011, and the new league will bring a slew of new, exciting teams (and some familiar ones too) to take on the ‘Cats for 50 homes games in Northwest Indiana this summer.

In honor of the RailCats 10th Anniversary, RailCats games will start 10 minutes after the hour in 2011 with Monday-Friday contests starting at 7:10 p.m., Saturday games starting at 6:10 p.m. and Sunday afternoon games beginning at 2:10 p.m. with the following exceptions: Kids’ Days – May 24-25 at 11:10 a.m., NEW Shift Worker Day – June 8 at 6:10 p.m. with the Diamond Club opening at 3 p.m. for a pregame party, Youth and Senior Day – June 23 at 11:10 a.m. and Independence Day (July 4) at 5:10 p.m.

“This is an awfully exciting day for the RailCats,” said President/General Manager Andy Viano. “Our fans are going to love seeing so many new teams at U. S. Steel Yard this summer, and with 11 different clubs on our schedule fans will get a true taste of the new league.  We could not be happier about playing our 10^th anniversary season in the American Association, and I’m sure I echo the feelings our terrific fans when I say I can’t wait for Opening Night!”

The RailCats will open 2011 on the road against the Grand Prairie Air Hogs on Thursday, May 12. After a four game series against the Hogs, the ‘Cats will travel to Kansas City for a three-game set against the T-Bones before returning home to beautiful U. S. Steel Yard for the first American Association home game in Northwest Indiana against Fargo-Moorhead. The RailCats host the RedHawks for three and the Wichita Wingnuts for three more during the first homestand of the year.

The ‘Cats will play a balanced schedule in their first year in the American Association with 50 home games and 50 road games. The RailCats longest road trip is only seven games long and occurs twice, May 12-19 and June 24-30. Conversely, the longest homestand is an eight game stretch to close out the season against the Lincoln Saltdogs and the St. Paul Saints.

During the regular season, the RailCats will play 18 games against the Sioux City Explorers, 15 against the St. Paul Saints, 12 against the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks, 10 against the Sioux Falls Pheasants, nine against both the Winnipeg Goldeyes and defending American Association Champion Shreveport-Bossier Captains, eight against the Lincoln Saltdogs, six against both the Kansas City T-Bones and Wichita Wingnuts, four against the Grand Prairie Air Hogs and three against the Fort Worth Cats.

The RailCats have also confirmed two exhibition games with the Winnipeg Goldeyes. The first will be Tuesday, May 3 at 1 p.m. and the second will be Wednesday, May 4 at 11 a.m.

Season tickets and flex packages for the 2011 season are on sale now by calling the RailCats at 219.882.2255 and single-game tickets will go on sale in 2011.  For more information on the RailCats or to see the complete 2011 schedule, visit www.railcatsbaseball.com.