Railroaders Offense Explodes in Game One Rout
GARY, Ind. (July 20, 2021) – The Cleburne Railroaders raced out to a 14-0 lead and rolled to a 15-5 win over the Gary SouthShore RailCats on Tuesday night at U.S. Steel Yard.
The Railroaders (32-23) scored five runs in the first, one in the second, and four apiece in the fourth and fifth, finishing with 16 hits for the evening. Michael Gunn (3-3) tossed five scoreless innings with seven strikeouts to pick up the win.
The game began with five consecutive Cleburne hits. Osvaldo Martinez and Alay Lago ripped singles, then Ramon Hernandez pounded a two-run double into left-center for a 2-0 lead. Zach Nehrir singled home Hernandez, then Chase Simpson capped the hit barrage with an RBI triple. Hunter Clanin drove in Simpson with a sacrifice fly for a 5-0 lead.
Nehrir beat out an infield single to drive home another run in the second, then the Railroaders blew the game open in the fourth. Lago singled in a run for a 6-0 lead, then Hernandez sliced a ground-rule double to increase the advantage to 7-0. Nehrir and Simpson tacked on RBI singles to stretch the lead to 10-0.
In the fifth, Hernadez tied a franchise record with his third double of the night, driving home Martinez for an 11-0 advantage. Nehrir picked up his fourth hit on an RBI double, then scored on a run-scoring single from John Nester to give Cleburne a 14-0 margin.
Gunn was excellent on the mound for Cleburne, allowing just three hits and three walks over five scoreless frames. He struck out the side in the second to strand the bases loaded, and pitched around a pair of base runners in the fourth to keep the RailCats off the scoreboard.
Gary SouthShore (23-34) got on the board in the sixth on a sacrifice fly from Jesus Marriaga, then added two more in the seventh on a single from Jacob Talamante.
Simpson notched his third hit of the night with a two-out RBI single in the top of the ninth, swelling the advantage to 15-3.
The RailCats scratched across two more in the bottom of the ninth for the final margin.
The Railroaders and RailCats continue the series on Wednesday night at 7:10 PM. Left-hander Austin Fairchild (3-3, 4.23) starts for the Railroaders, while Gary SouthShore counters with righty Jack Alkire (3-4, 5.36).
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.