Cleburne Claims Tenth Straight Series Win
GARY, Ind. (July 21, 2021) – The Cleburne Railroaders scored four times in the first two innings to fight past the Gary SouthShore RailCats 4-2 on Wednesday night at U.S. Steel Yard.
With the win, Cleburne (33-23) matched the franchise record with a tenth consecutive series win, established back in 2019 (June 25-July 29).
Osvaldo Martinez got the Railroaders off on the right foot with a solo home run on the second pitch of the game for a quick 1-0 lead. Cleburne then scored three runs with two outs in the second on a Martinez RBI single and a two-run single from Alay Lago, putting the Railroaders in front 4-0.
That proved to be more than enough for Cleburne starter Austin Fairchild (4-3), who fired five strong innings with three strikeouts to earn the win. He walked two and allowed just four singles. The only run Gary SouthShore (23-35) mustered against him came in the second, as Ryan Cash singled home Zach Welz to cut the lead to 4-1.
Taylor Wright took over for Cleburne in the sixth and stranded a pair of runners with a strikeout, but the RailCats scratched across a run against him in the seventh when Billy Cooke lashed an RBI single to trim the deficit to 4-2.
After Wright escaped the seventh on a strikeout and John Nester caught stealing, Michael Krauza flipped a 1-2-3 eighth inning with two more punch outs. Edward Cruz nailed down his third save of the season by retiring all three RailCats he faced in the ninth.
Jack Alkire (3-5) took the loss for Gary SouthShore, surrendering seven hits and four runs over seven innings. He threw a herculean 134 pitches in defeat.
The Railroaders and RailCats conclude the series on Thursday afternoon at 12:10 PM. Right-hander Garrett Alexander (6-5, 6.34) starts for the Railroaders, while Gary SouthShore has not yet announced their starter.
For information on partnerships, season tickets, group outings, and party packages, call the Railroaders main office at (817) 945-8705, or visit the Railroaders official website at www.railroaderbaseball.com.