GARY, Ind. — Brett Wallace set a Gary SouthShore RailCats record with seven RBI – all in the first four innings – to lead the ‘Cats to a second straight win over the Kansas City T-Bones, 14-8 Wednesday afternoon in front of 3,511 fans at U. S. Steel Yard.

Wallace broke Darin Kinsolving’s five-year-old club record with his second home run in the last five games, a three-run blast in the fifth inning that made the score 13-1.  Wallace notched a two-run single in the first and a narrowly missed a grand slam in the second, settling for a two-run double.  The third year pro had only 14 RBI on the season before Wednesday, when he finished 3-for-4 with seven RBI and was just a triple short of the cycle.  With a chance to add to his historic day in the seventh, Wallace was plunked in the back by the first pitch from T-Bones reliever Payton Tweddale.

Wallace was just one of several RailCats who had huge offensive days as the ‘Cats teed off against Kansas City starter Chris Rhoads (3-3).  Rhoads faced 10 men in the first, walking three, throwing two wild pitches and giving up four runs.  Things didn’t get much better in the second, when the RailCats sent eight men to the plate and scored three times on four hits.  Rhoads allowed seven runs on nine hits with four walks in 2.0 innings, suffering the loss.

The runs kept coming in the third with Weston Curles on in relief for Kansas City.  Curles walked three men, including Jordan Czarniecki with the bases loaded, and gave up two runs in the inning.  The T-Bones got on the board to make it 9-1 when Jim Fasano homered in the fourth, but the RailCats padded their lead again on a run-scoring Eric McNamee double.  Wallace’s fifth inning home run made it 13-1 before the RailCats bullpen coughed up five late runs.

The RailCats sent 51 men to the plate in the game and made only 24 outs, collecting 15 hits, drawing nine walks and reaching base on two eighth inning errors.  Every RailCats starter reached at least once before the end of the third inning, and by the end of the game seven of the nine starters reached at least three times.  The RailCats 14-run outburst was their third of at least 14 runs in the last five games.

Jay Pecci joined Wallace with three hits on the day, going 3-for-6 and scoring a run in each of the first three innings.  Jeff Beachum hit cleanup and also scored three times, while Czarniecki went 1-for-4 and drove in three runs, extending his consecutive game on-base streak to 21 games, the fourth longest in the Northern League this year.  Mike Massaro also scored three times from the leadoff spot.

Chris Jones (3-1) was the beneficiary of all the offense, winning for the second start in a row.  The right-hander allowed four hits and three runs – by virtue of walking four – over 5.1 innings, striking out five.  Eddie De la Cruz, Aaron Cook and Andy Shipman all pitched in relief, and all allowed at least one run.

The RailCats moved a season-best five games over .500 and are the first team in the Northern League to 29 wins.  The RailCats entered the day just two games back of league-leading Winnipeg.  The RailCats have won 12 times in their last 15 games and 11 of the last 14 at U. S. Steel Yard.

The RailCats (29-24) and T-Bones (25-27) close out their four-game series on Thirsty Thursday at 7 p.m. at U. S. Steel Yard.  Along with $2 beer specials for fans 21 and over, the ‘Cats will also be giving away seat cushions to the first 1,000 fans, courtesy Salvi, Schostok and Pritchard on Lawyer’s Night.  Tickets are available now by calling 219.882.2255 or visiting the U. S. Steel Yard Box Office.

Tom Thornton (7-3, 4.76 ERA) will start as the RailCats go for the series win Thursday opposite T-Bones ace Luis Villareal (3-3, 2.53 ERA).  That game will be broadcast live on 89.1 FM, The Lakeshore, and online at www.railcatsbaseball.com.

Notes:  Kinsolving’s six-RBI day came August 11, 2004 at Joliet in an 11-1 win that snapped an 11-game RailCats losing streak … the nine walks drawn and surrendered by the RailCats were both season-highs … Pecci had a four-hit day Sunday in Winnipeg and now has 17 hits during an eight-game hitting streak … the game took 3:26 minutes, making it the longest RailCats game of the season.