Cleburne Clubs Dogs to Salvage Finale
ROSEMONT, Ill. (July 25, 2021) – Noah Vaughan and Osvaldo Martinez each blasted a home run, propelling the Cleburne Railroaders to an 8-3 win over the Chicago Dogs on Sunday afternoon at Impact Field.
After Chicago (38-25) drew first blood with a run in the bottom of the second on an RBI double from Johnny Adams, Cleburne (35-25) answered immediately in the top of the third. Vaughan led off the inning by pounding an 0-1 pitch from Chicago starter Christian Day (0-2) over the wall in right-center to tie the game at 1-1. Later in the inning, Alay Lago sliced a two-run double down the right field line to give the Railroaders a 3-1 lead.
Colton Pogue delivered a two-run double of his own in the fourth, extending the lead to 5-1. Martinez then drove in Pogue with a long sacrifice fly for a 6-1 Cleburne advantage.
The Dogs would not go quietly, however. The scratched out single runs in the fifth and sixth innings to trim the margin to 6-3, but Cleburne pitchers stranded multiple Chicago runners in four consecutive innings to preserve the lead. Michael Gunn (4-3) battled through five innings to pick up the win, allowing two runs on six hits with six strikeouts. Taylor Wright got Cleburne through the seventh, then Michael Krauza flipped two scoreless frames with a trio of strikeouts in the eighth.
Martinez put the game away with a booming two-run homer in the top of the ninth, lengthening the Cleburne lead to 8-3. It was the fourth home run of the six-game road trip for Martinez, who now has seven long balls on the season.
Edward Cruz polished off the win with a 1-2-3 ninth, his 11th straight scoreless appearance since joining the Railroaders.
The Railroaders are off on Monday as they travel back to Cleburne for a three-game series against the Gary SouthShore RailCats beginning Tuesday at 7:06 PM.
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.