The regular-season home slate ended on a bittersweet note for the Tri-City ValleyCats on Monday night.

The short-season Class A affiliate of the Houston Astros lost a pair of one-run games to the Lowell Spinners, 5-4 in ten innings and 3-2 in seven, but the ValleyCats set a new franchise attendance record for the eighth consecutive season.

After 2,472 fans attended the first game, 5,824 packed Joseph L. Bruno Stadium for the nightcap, the 13th sellout crowd of the season. Those crowds brought the final season total to 156,279 fans at "The Joe," surpassing last year's record-setting total by nearly 1,000. The ’Cats averaged 4,341 per game, an increase from their 4,314 average in 2010.

"I wish we could have this kind of support at every level," manager Stubby Clapp said. "When you do get fans like this, it's special. I wish we could have played all 76 games at home."

The 'Cats now go on the road for six games, three at Aberdeen and three at Vermont. Facing a 4 1/2 game deficit in the Stedler Division with six to play, it now seems unlikely that the 'Cats will be able to repeat last year's run to the division title and New York-Penn League championship.

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