Railroaders Fend Off Canaries in Series Opener
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (June 8, 2021) – The Cleburne Railroaders pitching staff stranded 16 opposing runners and got four scoreless innings from the bullpen, rallying past the Sioux Falls Canaries 6-3 on Tuesday night at Sioux Falls Stadium.
Cleburne (9-10) managed to strand at least one Canaries runner in eight of nine innings, leaving the bases loaded in three separate frames. In the seventh, Sioux Falls (11-8) loaded the bases with nobody out, but the combination of Taylor Wright and Kyle Chavez escaped the inning with no damage done.
The Railroaders fell into a 2-0 hole in the first inning, as a double play grounder and a run-scoring single from Charlie Valerio gave the Canaries an early advantage. The comeback began in the top of the third, as Grant Buck smacked an opposite field solo home run to slice the deficit in half. Ramon Hernandez then tied the game with an RBI single of his own, plating Ozzie Martinez.
Cleburne took their first lead in the top of the fifth, as Zach Nehrir tripled and scored on a Hernandez sacrifice fly for a 3-2 edge. The Canaries tied the game in the bottom of the inning on a solo home run from Trey Michaelczewski.
A three-run top of the sixth proved to be the difference. Noah Vaughan broke the deadlock with a towering solo home run to right, then Martinez doubled home Buck before scoring on a single from Alay Lago that put the Railroaders in front, 6-3.
The bullpen hung on from there, leaving the bases loaded in the sixth and seventh. Newcomer Josh Norwood struck out Michaelczewski to escape the sixth, and Chavez came on to retire the league’s leading hitter Logan Landon in the seventh. After Chavez worked through the eighth, Cleburne called upon Bryan Saucedo for the ninth, pitching around a one-out walk to record his first professional save.
Maverik Buffo (2-1) picked up the victory for Cleburne with five solid innings, striking out five and walking three. Tyler Garkow (1-2) took the loss for Sioux Falls, allowing 12 hits and six runs over 5.2 innings.
The Railroaders and Canaries continue the series on Wednesday night at 7:05. Garrett Alexander (1-2, 6.18) starts for Cleburne, while Sioux Falls counters with fellow right-hander Angel Ventura (2-1, 5.25).
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.