Cleburne Launches Five Homers in Convincing Win

LINCOLN, Neb. (Aug. 28, 2021) – The Cleburne Railroaders pounded a season-high-tying five home runs, routing the Lincoln Saltdogs 14-5 on Saturday night at Haymarket Park.

The win clinches the season series against the Saltdogs, giving Cleburne the head-to-head tiebreaker.

The Railroaders (50-41) hit a pair of two-run homers in each of the first two innings, grabbing a 4-0 lead on blasts from Osvaldo Martinez and Hunter Clanin. Justin Byrd’s solo homer in the bottom of the third made it 4-1, but Martinez emptied the bases with a three-run double in the top of the fourth that pushed the Railroaders lead back to 7-1.

Cleburne put the game out of reach in the top of the fifth when Skyler Ewing cranked a grand slam and Martinez added an RBI single, pushing the gap out to 11-1. Ewing became the third Cleburne catcher in the last two weeks with a grand slam, joining John Nester on August 15 against Sioux City and Tyler Ryan on August 19 against Milwaukee.

A pair of runs for Lincoln (48-44) in the bottom of the fifth made it 11-3, but solo home runs from D.J. Peterson in the sixth and Ewing in the ninth kept the lead comfortable. The Saltdogs got a two-run single from Ryan Long in the bottom of the ninth for the final margin.

Martinez finished a season-high six RBI, while Ewing drove in five. Peterson’s home run was his seventh in the last ten games.

Jesus Sanchez (2-0) picked up the win for Cleburne with a quality start, allowing three runs over six innings of work. He struck out just one but also walked only one, making his first start since August 17. Landon Holifield tossed a scoreless seventh and Jake Yogel worked the final two innings to close out the victory.

Greg Minier (8-4) was saddled with the loss for Lincoln, allowing nine runs in four innings. Position players Curt Smith and David Vidal earned the final six outs on the mound for Lincoln.

With the win, the second-place Railroaders extend their lead over Lincoln to two-and-a-half games, and three-and-a-half over fourth place Sioux City.

The Railroaders and Saltdogs conclude the series on Sunday afternoon at 1:35 PM. Right-hander Kevin Hilton (0-0, 0.00) makes his debut for Cleburne, while Lincoln counters with lefty Ben Wereski (1-3, 3.94).

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.