GARY | After getting just three hits on Thursday, the RailCats bats were a little more alive on Friday.

All nine RailCats starters had hits as the team totaled 11. But it was an error that decided the game.

With the bases loaded and two out in the bottom of the 11th, Steve Haake's grounder went off the Joliet third baseman's glove, scoring Rob Marconi to give Gary a 5-4, 11-inning win before 3,019 at The Steel Yard.

"I really can't take credit, I was just trying to hit it hard and put the ball in play," Haake said. "I was just trying to get a good pitch early in the count. That's the way it goes."

Lefty Craig Pfautz intentionally walked Jay Pecci to load the bases. This was after Eric McNamee moved runners to second and third with a sacrifice bunt.

In the ninth, McNamee had bunted into a double play.

"Sure I was nervous after the double play and I tried to put down a perfect bunt," McNamee said. "Maybe that's not a good thing to do, but I just tried to put it where they weren't, and it worked."

Brian Halford (1-0) worked the 11th to get the win as the RailCats (1-1) avoided an 0-2 start for the first time since their inaugural season in 2002, when they started 0-5. They have never started 0-2 at The Steel Yard.

Starter Billy Phillips settled down after a shaky first and went five innings.

The bullpen kept the RailCats in the game. Reliever P.J. Bevis pitched a scoreless eighth and ninth innings, striking out four as 21 of his 35 pitches were for strikes.

Every starter for both teams reached base at least once.

Trailing 4-2, the RailCats scored a run in each of the seventh and eighth innings to tie the game.

Joliet (1-1) scored three in the first when its first four batters reached base.

Gary scored twice in the bottom of the first as Haake tripled to score McNamee and Guerrero tripled to score Haake.

The RailCats will receive rings from the 2007 Northern League championship at a ceremony at 5:15 p.m. today. The first 2,000 fans entering The Steel Yard will receive replica rings.