Hernandez Heroics Lift Railroaders Past Apollos
CLEBURNE, Tex. (June 19, 2021) – Ramon Hernandez hit a walk-off RBI single in the bottom of the 11th inning, pushing the Cleburne Railroaders to a 6-5 win over the Houston Apollos on Saturday night at The Depot at Cleburne Station.
With the game tied 5-5 entering the bottom of the 11th, Tyler Ryan came off the bench to rip a pinch-hit, lead-off double. After Noah Vaughan sacrificed him to third, the Apollos (4-25) elected to walk Osvaldo Martinez and Alay Lago intentionally to load the bases. Houston then brought on right-handed pitcher Chandler Ingram, whose first pitch to Hernandez was lined into center to score Ryan with the winning run.
The victory was Cleburne’s third walk-off win against the Apollos in five games between the two clubs this season.
Cleburne (13-16) was a strike away from ending the game in nine innings, but a two-out, two-strike double from Alvaro Gonzalez in the top of the ninth sent the game to extra innings. The score stayed tied thanks to some clutch relief work from Bryan Saucedo (1-0), who tossed a scoreless tenth and then struck out the side in the 11th to work around three walks.
Right-hander Jheyson Manzueta was excellent in his Cleburne debut, allowing just one earned run over six innings with eight strikeouts and one walk. Michael Krauza hurled a zero in the seventh with a pair of punchouts, but Houston scored two in the eighth on a bases-loaded walk to Taylor Zeutenhorst and an RBI single from Breland Almadova.
The Railroaders once again struck first on the evening, scoring a pair of runs in the bottom of the first inning on a solo home run from Martinez and a Zach Nehrir sacrifice fly. After the Apollos tied the score at 2-2 in the top of the second, Cleburne got a solo shot from Lago and a two-run home run from Hernandez in the fifth to move back in front, 5-2.
Matt Terrones (0-2) ultimately took the loss for Houston, allowing the three baserunners in the 11th prior to Hernandez’s walk-off single.
The Railroaders and Apollos conclude their three-game series with game three on Sunday night at 6:00 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.