Railroaders Run Over Apollos in Series Opener
CLEBURNE, Texas (Aug. 30, 2021) – The Cleburne Railroaders matched a franchise record with six stolen bases and got 4.2 shutout innings from the bullpen in an 8-2 win over the Houston Apollos on Monday night at The Depot at Cleburne Station.
Ramon Hernandez swiped two bases, while Alay Lago, Colton Pogue, Zach Nehrir and Hunter Clanin each stole one, matching the record for thieveries set twice against the Salina Stockade in 2017 (6/14 and 6/27). The Railroaders (51-42) have now stolen 110 bases in 155 tries, the most attempts in the American Association.
Houston (15-78) drew first blood on a two-run double from Taylor Zeutenhorst in the top of the fourth, but Cleburne had a quick response. A double and two walks in the bottom of the inning loaded the bases with two outs for Clanin, who ripped a bases-clearing triple into left that gave the Railroaders a 3-2 lead.
Osvaldo Martinez slammed a two-run homer in the bottom of the fifth to increase the margin to 5-2, his career-best 14th round-tripper of the season.
In the sixth, Noah Vaughan blasted his league-leading eighth triple to score one, and then he touched home on an RBI single from Lago to push the score to 7-2.
D.J. Peterson finished the scoring in the seventh with another long solo home run, his fourth consecutive game with a homer, and his seventh in the last six days.
The Cleburne bullpen was nearly flawless, as four relievers combined to blank the Apollos from the fifth inning on with seven strikeouts. Daniel James (1-0) led the way, striking out all five men he faced to pick up his first win. Landon Holifield, Michael Krauza and Nick Gardewine each fired a scoreless frame to nail down the win.
Garrett Alexander finished with a no-decision, allowing just two runs over 4.1 innings. Houston starter Duncan Snider (0-1) took the loss, allowing three runs in 3.2 innings.
The Railroaders and Apollos continue the series on Tuesday night at 7:06 PM. Cleburne is expected to start right-hander Jalen Evans (1-2, 4.60), while Houston counters with fellow righty Jeff Serin (0-0, 8.10).
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.