GARY, Ind. — The Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks sent 11 men to the plate in a six-run third inning to salvage a win in a three-game series at U. S. Steel Yard, knocking off the Gary SouthShore RailCats 9-1 Wednesday night.



The first eight hitters in the RedHawks third all reached base against starter Tom Thornton (1-8), who walked four and gave up four hits in the inning. Fargo’s lead swelled to 8-0 with a pair of solo home runs in the fifth and that was more than enough for Scott Fogelson (pictured, 6-2) who allowed just three hits in seven innings.



The Fargo-Moorhead third began with Alan Rick walking and going to second on a Mike Coles single before Zach Penprase walked to load the bases. Nic Jackson came up next and lined a single into right, plating Rick before Coles was thrown out at the plate by right fielder Cristian Guerrero. With the bases loaded once more later in the inning, Jesse Hoorelbeke doubled off the left field wall to make it 3-0, and Fargo got another run on a Jay Cox RBI hit. With two outs and the lead 4-0, Rick batted for the second time in the inning and singled in two more runs to complete the six-run rally.



The RailCats had only three hits in the game but did draw six walks, including five off the starter Fogelson. The RailCats went down in order only once in the first six innings and did score their lone run in the fifth. Mike Reese doubled to lead off that inning and scored one batter later on a John Parham single. The RailCats would load the bases with one out on back-to-back walks later in the fifth, but Tanner Townsend hit into a double play to halt the RailCats best scoring threat.



Thornton lost for the eighth time in his last eight starts, allowing eight earned runs on 11 hits with four walks and five strikeouts. LaPorte native Andy Weeks worked the final three innings, retiring nine of the 10 hitters he faced and striking out two in just his third professional appearance.



Hoorelbeke and Kole Zimmerman each homered in the RedHawks fifth and Nic Jackson added another solo home run, his coming in the ninth, to provide all the Fargo offense. Four different RedHawks had two hits each as Fargo banged out 12 hits, including six for extra-bases. Reese, Parham and Louis Ott – who singled in the second – had the three RailCats hits.



The RailCats (30-32) start a four-game series at Silver Cross Field Thursday night at 7:10 p.m. against the Joliet JackHammers (32-28). Rookie right-hander Nolan Nicholson (3-2, 4.82 ERA) will make his eighth start for the RailCats with right-hander Rory Shortell (2-4, 4.93 ERA) going for Joliet. The game, like every RailCats game this summer, will be broadcast live on 89.1 FM, The Lakeshore, and online at www.railcatsbaseball.com.



Notes: Adam Klein reached on a pair of walks but did not collect a hit, seeing his hitting streak come to an end at 11 games … the three hits were the lowest output by the RailCats since June 24 at Fargo-Moorhead … the six-run inning allowed by the RailCats matched the most allowed in an inning by the team this year, a feat also accomplished by the RedHawks on June 27 … the game was the last of the regular season between the two clubs, with Fargo winning the season series 9-5.



More Info: Founded in 2002, the Gary SouthShore RailCats are Northwest Indiana’s premier professional sports franchise. The RailCats play in the independent Northern League where they won championships in 2005 and 2007, and have advanced to an unprecedented five straight Championship Series. The RailCats play 50 home games each summer at U. S. Steel Yard, their award-winning $45 million home ballpark, one of the premier minor league baseball venues in the country. The RailCats averaged more than 3,500 fans per game in 2009 and attracted 185,747 total fans to the park, marking the highest single-season attendance in the franchise’s history. The RailCats have increased attendance six out of seven seasons at The Steel Yard, which opened in May 2003.