Railroaders Hang on for Opening Night Win
CLEBURNE, Texas (May 18, 2021) – The Cleburne Railroaders opened the 2021 season with a 4-3 win over the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks on Tuesday night at The Depot at Cleburne Station.
With the game tied 2-2 in the bottom of the eighth, Hunter Clanin was hit by a pitch and Noah Vaughan doubled to put runners at second and third with nobody out. Cleburne shortstop Ozzie Martinez followed with an RBI single to right that gave the Railroaders a 3-2 lead. An error from Fargo-Moorhead shortstop Sam Dexter added another run in the inning, pushing the Cleburne margin out to 4-2.
Tyler Wilson ran into trouble in the top of the ninth when Leobaldo Piña doubled and Dylan Kelly followed with an RBI single to trim the lead to 4-3. After a strikeout and a single, Wilson got Trace Loehr on a fly out to left center field to secure the save.
Cleburne (1-0) grabbed the game’s first lead courtesy of an RBI triple from Ramon Hernandez in the first inning, plating Alay Lago for a 1-0 edge.
Grant Buck doubled the advantage with an opposite-field solo home run in the bottom of the fourth for a 2-0 lead.
Railroaders starter Logan Verrett carried that score into the top of the sixth, when Sam Dexter got the RedHawks (0-1) on the board with a solo homer of his own. That was the only damage done against Verrett, who tossed six strong innings while striking out seven and walking just one. He surrendered only three hits and ended with a no-decision.
Fargo-Moorhead starter Tyler Pike matched Verrett pitch for pitch, striking out nine over seven innings, allowing two runs on five hits. Reliever Brent Jones (0-1) took the loss, surrendering two runs and recording just one out in the eighth inning.
Kyle Chavez (1-0) earned the win for Cleburne by retiring the only man he faced in the top of the eighth.
The Railroaders and RedHawks continue the series Wednesday night at 7:06 PM. Right-hander Michael Mariot (0-0, 0.00) starts for Cleburne, while Fargo-Moorhead will counter with righty Kevin Herget (0-0, 0.00).
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.
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