T-Bones clinch playoff spot; defeat Gary in 16 innings

The Kansas City T-Bones have clinched a playoff spot for the first time since 2010 and will take on the Sioux City Explorers at T-Bones Stadium at 7:05 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday.

Tickets are available for $8 at tbonesbaseball.com or by visiting the Box Office, which will be open from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. hours on Labor Day.

On Sunday, Kansas City trailed most of the ball game against the Gary SouthShore RailCats, but came back victorious 3-2 in 16 innings.

Gary started it off in the bottom of the second, when Tilman Pugh smashed a solo home run to left-center field to give Gary a 1-0 lead.

In the bottom of the third, the RailCats added to their lead as Randy Santiesteban doubled off the center field wall and was pushed home by a Tilman Pugh RBI double.

Gary maintained the 2-0 lead until the sixth when Mason Davis doubled to center and scored on a Noah Perio Jr. sacrifice fly.

In the eighth, Ryan Brett got aboard with a single, then moved to third on a single by Davis. Perio Jr. then hit an infield single that scored Brett and evened up the game 2-2.

Gary threatened to take the lead a couple of times in extra innings but was shut down by T-Bones reliever Pasquale Mazzoccoli.

In the 14th, the RailCats had the bases loaded with two out when Mazzoccoli struck out Cole Fabio. In the 15th, Gary led off with a triple by Ronnie Mitchell, but Mazzoccoli struck out two other batters and Andy Paz lined to right field for the third out.

The T-Bones took advantage of that good fortune in the 16th when Davis crushed a go-ahead solo home run down the right field line to put Kansas City up 3-2.

The RailCats were unable to rally a run in the bottom of the 16th and the T-Bones chalked up their 62nd win of the season 3-2 over Gary. The two teams are back at it again at 1:10 p.m. Monday in Gary.

Listen to the action with the voice of the T-Bones, Dan Vaughan Jr., at http://mixlr.com/t-bones-baseball/.
– Story from T-Bones