GARY, IN. 6-5-2010 — The Gary SouthShore RailCats took advantage of five Lake County Fielders errors, scored six unanswered runs, and got seven strong innings out of starter Willie Glen to win 6-2 Saturday night at U. S. Steel Yard.

Glen (1-1) went 7.0 innings, scattering seven hits and giving up only two runs while striking out three and giving up just single runs in the fourth and fifth innings.  His RailCats-record 33^rd victory in his career also included his 400^th RailCats strikeout, easily more than any other pitcher the team has ever had.  Glen recorded strikeout 400 by getting Cody Strait looking in the fourth, then added another one inning later.  The 32-year-old is only 59 strikeouts away from cracking the top five in Northern League history.

With the Fielders in front 2-0, the RailCats got their first hit of the game when Jeff Beachum doubled to lead off the fifth.  Two batters later, Mike Rohde hit his first of two doubles to score Beachum and cut the lead in half.  In the sixth, the RailCats took advantage of a pair of Fielders errors to get even.  Mike Massaro drove in the tying run on a fielder’s choice groundout with runners at the corners and no one out.

The game was decided in the bottom of the seventh, when the ‘Cats used a combination of timely hitting and Fielders mistakes to jump in front for good.  Rohde started the inning with another double and scored when John Parham’s bunt was thrown into the RailCats bullpen as Lake County starter John Brownell (1-2) tried to get Rohde at third base.  Adam Klein had a sacrifice fly later in the inning and Cristian Guerrero closed the inning with a two-out base hit that scored two, one coming across on a second Lake County error.

The RailCats matched their highest run output of the season despite only five hits.  Rohde’s two doubles make him 10-for-21 with four doubles over the last six games.  Josh Petersen, Joshua Short and former RailCats catcher Anthony Esquer each had two of Lake County’s eight hits.

Aaron Cook and Andy Shipman closed the game for the RailCats with a scoreless inning each as the ‘Cats snapped a modest two-game losing streak.

The RailCats (7-9) and Fielders (6-10) bring their three-game series to a close Sunday at 2 p.m. at U. S. Steel Yard.  Right-hander Brandon Magee (1-2, 4.76 ERA) will start for the RailCats against Lake County’s Garry Bakker (1-1, 3.50 ERA).  The game will be broadcast live on 89.1 FM, The Lakeshore, and online at www.railcatsbaseball.com.

Sunday’s game is the first of a doubleheader of sports action in Chicagoland, as the Chicago Blackhawks will take on the Philadelphia Flyers at 7 p.m. in Game Five of the Stanley Cup Finals.  In recognition of that big game, the RailCats are giving all fans dressed is ‘Hawks garb $2 off the price of any ticket, and auctioning off baseballs signed by Hall of Famer Stan Mikita and Blackhawks winger Ben Eager.  Sunday is also a The Times Family Sunday, with a discount voucher for four tickets and food available in Sunday’s editions of the Northwest Indiana Times.

Notes: The RailCats 7-9 start is their best since the 2007 season.  The ‘Cats began each of the last two years 6-10 before rebounding to reach the Northern League Championship Series … Jay Pecci singled in the seventh inning Saturday to snap an 0-for-18 slide … the RailCats have scored nine runs in the series on only nine hits … the two-run deficit was the largest overcome by the RailCats in a win this season.