River Forest rallies by East Chicago

GARY – The celebratory shower from the Gatorade cooler was in full display after the game and even though the chilly air was present, nobody minded on the winning team.

Trailing by four runs after one inning of play didn't faze River Forest, as the Ingots remained patient at the plate, chipping away at the lead to eventually overtake East Chicago 7-6 in the RailCats Baseball Challenge at the Steel Yard.

Back-to-back walks with the bases loaded in their half of the sixth inning proved to be the difference for the Ingots, who fully enjoyed their experience at the ballpark.

River Forest (2-3) exploded with a four spot of their own in the top of the third inning tying the game at 4-4, sending all nine hitters to the plate.

The big hit in the inning came off the bat of Tyler Hanson, who had a two-run single and scored the final run when Geno Flores singled.

East Chicago (1-5-1) came out swinging the bats in the early going and seemed in full control utilizing the hit-and-run to perfection, manufacturing a great start to the game with four straight singles as they batted around in the first inning to take a 4-0 advantage.

The hits kept coming for the Cardinals as they took the lead back in the bottom half of the third inning, coupling speed to the bats as Gilberto Ibarra stole home with the bases loaded to take a 5-4 lead.

But River Forest continued to ride the momentum from the third inning and once again tied the game, this time without the luxury of a base hit. A sharply hit ball of the bat of Randy Carver was misplayed by the shortstop that allowed Dexter Nalls to score from second base to make it 5-5.

In the sixth inning River Forest brought eight batters to the plate with only one hit, a leadoff single by Chris Lauderback. Four of the next five batters walked and Lauderback stole second base and scored the go-ahead run when Jason Temple walked with the bases loaded.

Hanson followed suit with an RBI walk as Dexter Nalls scored the game-winner.

Lauderback finished the game 2-for-3 and added three stolen bases. In came on in relief and pitched strong enough to pick up the win.

Nalls was 0-for-1, but walked twice and scored twice as well for River Forest.

East Chicago outhit River Forest 14-6, but could not scratch more than one run in the sixth inning off the Ingots' late-inning pitching.

Leadoff hitter Erik Romo of East Chicago finished 3-for-4 with a run scored, equaling teammate Isaiah Pena who was 3-for-4 with a run scored.

© 2012 Sun-Times Media, LLC. All rights reserved. This material may not be copied or distributed without permission. For more information about reprints and permissions, visit www.suntimesreprints.com. To order a reprint of this article, click here.