ALL GAS, NO BRAKES IN COUGARS’ DOMINATION OF RAILROADERS
CLEBURNE, TEXAS (August 10, 2022) – Everything went the Cougar’s way on Wednesday evening. Cleburne was no match for what Kane County was able to do offensively, as the Railroaders’ pitching staff had no answers throughout the night. The Cougars racked up 15 hits in their 13-5 victory over the Railroaders from The Depot at Cleburne Station.
It was clear right from the start that Kane County was going to be in the driver’s seat the entire way. They put up four runs in the top of the first off Railroaders’ starter Michael Wong who was hit hard throughout the entirety of his outing.
Cleburne put up their first run of the night in the bottom of the second when Chase Simpson lifted a ball over the right field fence to bring the score to 4-1.
Kane County countered with more runs in the fourth, a trend they continued throughout the game. Two runs came around the score in the inning and the Cougars had themselves a five-run cushion.
That lead was given a bit more breathing room in the top of the fifth when they added three more to the total to make it 9-1 at the halfway mark.
The Railroaders pushed their second run across in the bottom half of that same frame off an Edwin Arroyo RBI single that brought Jacob Bockelie around to score.
In the sixth was where Cleburne attempted to make a push at a potential comeback. Simpson launched his second home run of the night, this one a two-run shot, to make it 9-4. That home run brought Simpson’s season total to 22, a single-season high for a Railroader. Wyatt Mathisen then stepped up and hit a ball over the scoreboard, his first hit as a Railroader to make it 9-5.
But Kane County wouldn’t let Cleburne come back. In the top of the seventh, the Cougars struck for two more runs and they were up 11-5.
The team from Geneva, Illinois scratched across two more in the top of the ninth off Nick Gardewine. That score of 13-5 held true through the bottom of the ninth as Cleburne fell to the Cougars for the second consecutive game.
Wong was shelled with the loss. He was roughed up over four and a third innings of work, giving up eight runs on ten hits with four walks and just one strikeout.
Westin Muir was good for the Cougars. He went five and a third innings, allowing five runs (four earned) on seven hits with four walks and one strikeout, a performance good enough to earn himself his fourth win of the season.
With Gary SouthShore’s win over the Chicago Dogs, Cleburne falls to fifth place in the East Division.
The Railroaders continue their six-game series with the Cougars tomorrow at 7:06 p.m., with pregame coverage starting at 6:45 p.m. on aabaseball.tv and on the Railroader Radio Network.