Railroaders Claw Past Gary SouthShore to Salvage Finale

CLEBURNE, Texas (July 29, 2021) – John Nester ripped a go-ahead RBI double in the bottom of the sixth and the Cleburne bullpen held the fort from there, as the Railroaders snuck past the Gary SouthShore RailCats 4-3 on Thursday night at The Depot.

Nester’s double broke a 3-3 tie, scoring Hunter Clanin all the way from first on a close play at the plate. The combination of Taylor Wright (2-3), Michael Krauza and Edward Cruz fired four scoreless innings with seven strikeouts to polish off the victory, though not without some drama. The RailCats (26-39) put two runners on with two outs in the top of the ninth, before Cruz got Zach Welz on a fly out to right to secure his fifth save.

Cruz continued his flawless start to the season, with a scoreless innings streak that has stretched to 13.0 over the course of 12 appearances.

Cleburne (36-27) once again pulled in front early, scoring twice in the third inning and once in the fourth for a 3-0 lead. Alay Lago slammed an RBI double for the game’s first run, then he crossed the plate on a sacrifice fly from Ramon Hernandez to double the lead.

Colton Pogue added a run all by himself in the fourth. Leading off the inning, Pogue sliced a line drive to the gap in right-center field. Gary SouthShore outfielders Billy Cooke and Jesus Marriaga collided on the play, allowing Pogue to race over to third with a triple. A late relay throw from RailCats second baseman Jose Mercado bounced out of play, allowing Pogue to score for a 3-0 advantage.

Gary SouthShore tied the game in the top of the fifth on an RBI groundout from Tommy McCarthy and a two-out, two-run home run from Tom Walraven.

Starter Kody Bullard ended up with a no-decision for Cleburne, allowing three runs on eight hits over five innings with six strikeouts. Wright picked up the victory with five strikeouts over two scoreless innings, including fanning the side in the seventh.

Trevor Lubking (3-7) took the loss for Gary SouthShore, surrendering four runs, three earned, over six innings of work.

The Railroaders continue the homestand with three games against the Houston Apollos over the weekend. First pitch of Friday night’s series opener is scheduled for 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.