Mariot, Bullpen Blank Monarchs in Finale

KANSAS CITY, Kan. (May 30, 2021) – Michael Mariot tossed six shutout innings and the bullpen retired all nine men they faced as the Cleburne Railroaders salvaged the series finale with a 7-0 victory over the Kansas City Monarchs on Sunday afternoon at Legends Field.

Mariot (2-0) struck out six, walked just one and allowed five hits in picking up his second victory of the road trip. He induced a pair of big double plays to escape trouble, getting Darnell Sweeney to bounce into a 4-6-3 with the bases loaded in the fifth and Casey Gillaspie to hit into a 6-4-3 with two on in the sixth. 

From there the Cleburne bullpen was superb, as Mason Melotakis, Kyle Chavez and Tyler Wilson combined for three scoreless innings with five strikeouts to polish off the victory. Melotakis retired all five that he faced with a pair of punchouts before Chavez struck out the only man he faced in the eighth. Wilson then worked a 1-2-3 ninth to close it out.

Offensively, Cleburne (5-7) got on the board in the third on an RBI triple from Noah Vaughan, then added two more in the fourth on a home run from Zach Nehrir for a 3-0 lead. Ramon Hernandez provided the big swing in the sixth, ripping a three-run triple after a trio of walks to start the inning. Hernandez then provided insurance in the eighth on a sacrifice fly for the game’s final margin.

Robinson Martinez (0-1) took the loss for Kansas City, allowing one run over three innings.

After an off day on Monday, the Railroaders return to The Depot for their first-ever meeting with the Houston Apollos, kicking off a three-game series on Tuesday night 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.