GARY, Ind. — The Gary SouthShore RailCats today announced a preliminary lineup of players, coaches and staff for their first-ever Fan Fest, Saturday, February 21 from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. at the Radisson Hotel at Star Plaza.  Doors will open at 9:30 a.m.

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Current RailCats Jay Pecci, Steve Haake, Eric McNamee, Mike Rohde, Rob Marconi and John McCarthy will be joined by former ‘Cats Anthony Iapoce, Dan Soria, Eric Blakeley and Bill Malone.  RailCats Manager Greg Tagert, coaches Jamie Bennett and Kenny Graham, Owner/CEO Pat Salvi, the entire RailCats front office staff, and former RailCats broadcasters Alan Garrett and Tom Nichols will also be in attendance.  The RailCats will announce additions to the Fan Fest lineup as they are confirmed, and will unveil a final list of guests the week of Fan Fest.

Pecci, Haake and McNamee have been a part of every RailCats team under Tagert, advancing to four straight league championship series and winning titles in 2005 and 2007.  Each has been an All-Star in the Northern League and each rank among the all-time leaders in club history in a number of offensive categories.  The trio has combined to appear in 999 RailCats games and compile 1,042 hits.

Rohde, Marconi and McCarthy, meanwhile, all joined the RailCats prior to 2008 and were valued contributors last season.  Marconi and Rohde both were named to the Northern League Mid-Season All-Star Team and Rohde went on to win the league’s Rookie of the Year award after the season.

Iapoce was the face of the RailCats transition into a winner, laboring through a difficult 2004 season before leading a veteran ‘Cats team to the 2005 Northern League title.  A longtime Triple-A standout and a fan favorite at U. S. Steel Yard with for his hustling style and fun-loving attitude, Iapoce hit .279 in his two years with the RailCats before embarking on his current career with the  Florida Marlins as a hitting instructor and minor league coach.

Soria embodies the baseball underdog story, making the RailCats in 2003 out of the team’s annual open tryout.  A Region native who pitched at South Suburban College and Chicago State, Soria made 34 starts for the RailCats in 2003 and 2004, winning nine times and racking up 107 strikeouts.  Soria retired after the 2004 season to become a police officer in his hometown of East Chicago, where he still works today.

Blakeley retired from professional baseball after the 2008 season, bringing a six-year career to an end.  After reaching as high as Triple-A in the Seattle Mariners system, Blakeley had two very good years in a RailCats uniform from 2007-08, batting a career-high .310 with six home runs last season.  The Indiana University grad owns and operates a baseball facility, Diamond Kings, in St. John.

Malone was a part of the first two RailCats teams (2002-03) and batted .262 for the traveling ‘Cats, playing in 89 of 90 games and stealing 21 bases in 2002.  A native of LaGrange Park, Illinois, Malone played four more seasons after leaving the RailCats, wrapping up his professional career with Schaumburg in 2007.

Tagert is the all-time winningest manager in RailCats history and in the history of the Frontier League, where he spent nine seasons.  In 13 years as a professional manager, Tagert has never had a losing season, and he is the only manager to guide a team in the modern history of the Northern League to four straight championship series appearances.

Bennett has not only served as the RailCats pitching coach since 2006, he was also one of the standouts on the champion RailCats in 2005.  The Tennessee native won a then team-record 10 games in 2005 and then started and won the decisive fifth game of the Northern League Championship Series, a 2-1 pitcher’s duel.

Fan Fest tickets are on sale now and can be purchased by calling the RailCats at 219.882.2255 or online by visiting www.railcatsbaseball.com.  Tickets are $15 when purchased before the day of the event, and $20 at the gate.  Kids 12 and under can attend Fan Fest for only $5, and a special $10 ticket is available for 2009 season ticket holders.  The purchase of a Fan Fest ticket includes all-day admission to the event, a reserved seat ticket to Opening Day (Monday, May 18), a Fan Fest autograph poster and program, a commemorative t-shirt for the first 500 fans.