Cleburne Holds off Sioux Falls to Complete Sweep
CLEBURNE, Texas (July 4, 2021) – The Cleburne Railroaders raced out to a 7-1 lead and hung on to defeat the Sioux Falls Canaries 8-6 on Sunday night at The Depot at Cleburne Station. The victory secured a sweep of the three-game series, as the Railroaders improved to 6-0 on the season against the Canaries.
Cleburne (23-19) appeared well on their way to a comfortable victory with four runs in the second, one in the third, and two in the fourth for a 7-1 advantage. But Sioux Falls (18-23) chipped away with two in the sixth and three more in the top of the seventh, pulling within 7-6. The Canaries then loaded the bases with one out in the eighth, but Taylor Wright induced a 4-6-3 double play to escape the jam with the lead intact.
The Railroaders then scratched out an insurance run in the bottom of the eighth. After singles from Hunter Clanin and Noah Vaughan put runners on the corners with two outs, Vaughan was picked off by Sioux Falls lefty Caleb Frare. Vaughan managed to stay in the rundown long enough for Clanin to score from third base, increasing the lead to 8-6.
Tyler Wilson bolted down the save in the ninth, issuing a leadoff walk but then retiring the next three to notch his fifth save of the season.
A four-run second inning put Cleburne in the driver’s seat early. Clanin singled home the game’s first run, then Colton Pogue drew a bases-loaded walk. After an Alay Lago RBI single, Ramon Hernandez earned another run-scoring walk for a 4-0 lead.
Sioux Falls pulled a run back in the third on a bases-loaded walk of their own by Jabari Henry, but Cleburne responded in kind via a Colton Pogue RBI single that made it 5-1 Railroaders. A run-scoring single from John Nester and another Pogue walk with the bases loaded swelled the margin to 7-1.
Garrett Alexander (5-4) picked up his fifth victory of the season, grinding out six innings while allowing three runs on eight hits. Alexander struck out three and threw 123 pitches on the evening.
Colby Wyatt (1-3) was saddled with the loss for Sioux Falls, allowing five runs over 2.1 innings on six hits and five walks.
The Railroaders will be off on Monday as they travel to Franklin, Wisconsin to begin a three-game series against the Milwaukee Milkmen. First pitch of Tuesday’s series opener is scheduled for 6:35 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.