Tommy Mendoza threw five shutout innings in the victory
Joliet scores seven times in the sixth to beat the RailCats…
(Gary, IN) – The Joliet Slammers defeated the American Association’s Gary South Shore RailCats by a score of 8-5 Saturday afternoon.
It’s the third straight win in the pre-season for Joliet as they moved their 2012 Spring Training record to 3-0.
Most of the damage came with two outs in the sixth inning as Joliet scored seven runs to turn a 2-1 deficit into an 8-2 lead.
David Fox got the rally going with two down and nobody on with a single. Ben Hewett followed with a single of his own and Fox advanced to third on the play. Hewett stole second and Sean Estand drew a walk. St. Francis alum. Brad Netzel stepped to the plate and drew a walk to tie the game. Trevor Willis, who tripled and scored the Slammers’ first run in the first inning, stepped to the plate. He hit a grounder to Gary second baseman Chris Carrara. Carrara bobbled the ball and compounded his mistake by throwing the ball over the first baseman’s head. Two runs scored and Willis advanced to second. Just like that Joliet grabbed a 4-2 lead.
They weren’t done.
Abel Nieves was hit by the pitch to load the bases again. Up stepped Hector Pellot who drew a walk to extend the lead to 5-2. Erik Lis plated two more with a single to left and a wild pitch score Pellot later in the frame to complete the scoring.
The Slammers would not score again in the game but it didn’t matter as the pitching was outstanding.
Gaby Hernandez got the start and was solid in just over three innings of work. But it was Tommy Mendoza who really shined as he tossed five shutout innings to get the win. Mendoza gave up only one hit and struck out three in his outing.
Joliet takes on the expansion Schaumburg Boomers for the third time this spring Monday at 7:00 p.m. The game is at Silver Cross Field and fans who can’t make it can watch all the action on www.ustream.tv/jolietslammers.
