GARY, IN. 8-1-2010 — The Gary SouthShore RailCats rallied for a pair of ninth inning runs but Bobby Korecky and the Winnipeg Goldeyes held on for a 4-3 win Monday night at U. S. Steel Yard in the first game of a crucial three-game series.

Down 4-1 going to the bottom of the ninth inning, the RailCats got the first two runners on against the Winnipeg closer, Korecky.  Chris Carrara walked to start the inning and went to third on a Cristian Guerrero base hit.  After Korecky got Randall Simon to pop out and struck out Tanner Townsend, Louis Ott calmly stroked a base hit to left to score a pair of runs.  That brought Mike Rohde to the dish representing the winning run, but Korecky fanned Rohde to end the game.

The dramatic save preserved the league-leading ninth win for Winnipeg starter Chris Salamida (9-4), who was brilliant in seven innings Monday.  The southpaw allowed just four hits and one earned run in his start, walking one and striking out a season-high 10.  The RailCats got their lone run off Salamida in the fifth when Ott tripled to start the inning and scored on a Mike Valadez grounder.

Winnipeg took the lead for good in the second inning on a sacrifice fly by Dee Brown, and added to their lead with solo home runs in the fourth, from Justin Justice, and sixth, from Juan Diaz.  All of those runs scored off Nolan Nicholson (4-3), who allowed seven hits and three earned runs in 5.1 innings.  Winnipeg added their fourth run in the seventh when Aharon Eggleston tripled with three outs and scored on a Price Kendall infield hit.

The Goldeyes out-hit the RailCats 11-7, getting two hits each from Kendall, Diaz and Justin.  Ott had the big game for the ‘Cats, going 2-for-4 with his team-leading fourth triple and the two ninth inning RBI.  Guerrero was also 2-for-4.

The loss for the RailCats was just their fourth in the last 11 games and prevented the RailCats from getting over .500 for the first time since July 6.  The Goldeyes improved their lead to 1.5 games over the fifth place RailCats, who have won three straight series but must win each of the next two nights to avoid dropping this three-game set to their rivals.

The RailCats (33-34) and Goldeyes (35-33) continue their series Tuesday night at 6 p.m. at U. S. Steel Yard.  Left-hander Brad Halsey (4-5, 4.22 ERA) will start for the ‘Cats opposite Winnipeg right-hander Stephen Flake (3-3, 3.73 ERA).  The game will be broadcast live on 89.1 FM, The Lakeshore, and online at www.railcatsbaseball.com.

It’s Tuesday Kids Night at U. S. Steel Yard, with free hot dogs for the first 1,000 kids (age 12 and under) and other great giveaways for youngsters as well.  The RailCats will also be giving away Picture Packs featuring your favorite RailCats players to the first 1,000 fans, courtesy Great Lakes Orthopedics.  Great seats are still available by calling the ‘Cats at 219.882.2255, visiting www.railcatsbaseball.com or stopping by the U. S. Steel Yard Box Office after 10 a.m.

Notes: The loss dropped the RailCats to just 13-19 at home this season … the loss for Nicholson was his first since July 9, snapping a string of four undefeated starts … Ott’s two hits came one day after his seven-game hitting streak was snapped … the RailCats have won each of the first two series this year against the Goldeyes.