Cats Split Doubleheader With Canaries

Cats/Canaries end series Thursday night

By EMIL MOFFATT

Updated 8:15 AM CDT, Thu, Jul 9, 2009

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(Photo courtesy Fort Worth Cats/Bob Haynes)

Kelley Gulledge was 4-for-4 with two runs batted in as the Cats defeated Sioux Falls 8-3 in Game 1 of the doubleheader on Wednesday night. The Canaries limited the Cats to just two hits in Game 2, for a 4-2 win.

In Game 1, the Cats scored twice in the first inning as Pat O'Sullivan doubled home two for a 2-0 Cats lead. In the second, Gulledge led off the frame with a double to left. The next batter, Isa Garcia brought home Gulledge with a double to left for a 3-0 advantage. Chuck Carter followed with an RBI double of his own for a 4-0 lead.

One batter later, Cameron Blair delivered an RBI double, scoring Carter to make it 5-0 Fort Worth.

The Canaries managed only two hits through the first five innings before they put three runs on the board in the sixth. After the first two batters of the inning reached, Cody Haerther singled to center, scoring Joe Anthonsen. One batter later, JD Reininger brought home a run with a sacrifice fly and former Cat Ken Lup collected an RBI single to make it 5-3 Fort Worth.

The Cats answered with three runs in the top of the seventh on a two-run double by Gulledge and an infield RBI single by Carter.

Matt Gibbs (1-1) notched his first win in a Cats' uniform in Game 1 as allowed three runs on five hits in five innings of work. Tyler Pearson and Gary Lee worked two scoreless innings to finish off the seven-inning game.

Game 2

In Game 2, rookie third baseman Kyle Eveland delivered a two-run single in the bottom of the sixth inning to snap a 2-2 tie and lift Sioux Falls to a 4-2 victory.

The Canaries took an early 1-0 lead on a second-inning RBI groundout by Reininger. The Cats tied the game in the fourth on an RBI single by John Allen. The Canaries regained the lead in the fourth as Reininger collected an RBI single to make it 2-1.

But the Cats answered with an unearned run scored after Aljay Davis reached on a two-out error and came into score on a Brian Fryer run-scoring double.

Fort Worth managed just two hits in Game 2 of the doubleheader. Travis Kane (3-6) earned the win after allowing two runs, one earned on to hits in six innings pitched. Aaron Cotter notched his first save in a Canaries uniform by retiring the side in the ninth. Ryan Riddle (4-4) took the loss as he permitted four runs on six hits in 5 1/3 innings.

The series concludes on Thursday night at 7:05 p.m. Jae Jung goes to the mound for the Cats with Jino Gonzalez on the hill for Sioux Falls.