Railroaders Surrender Late Lead in Walk-Off Loss

LINCOLN, Neb. (Aug. 27, 2021) – The Cleburne Railroaders could not hold a 7-3 lead heading into the bottom of the eighth inning, allowing five runs over the final two frames to drop an 8-7 decision to the Lincoln Saltdogs on Friday night at Haymarket Park.

The Railroaders (49-41) brought on Edward Cruz (1-1) in the bottom of the ninth inning looking to preserve a 7-5 advantage, but Lincoln (48-43) quickly loaded the bases on a hit by pitch, single and walk. A sacrifice fly from Skyler Weber made it 7-6, and Edgar Corcino lined an RBI single to tie the game at 7-7. After an intentional walk loaded the bases, Cruz got a pop out to second for the second out. On a 1-2 pitch, rookie Drew Devine followed by looping a single into centerfield for a walk-off single.

Cleburne led 5-0 heading into the bottom of the fourth, thanks to a two-out grand slam from D.J. Peterson and an RBI single from Alay Lago. Lincoln pulled two runs back in the bottom of the fourth on a solo home run from David Vidal and a bases-loaded walk to Justin Byrd.

Zach Nehrir’s RBI double in the top of the fifth made it 6-2, but David Vidal hammered a solo home run in the sixth to trim the lead back to 6-3.

A two-out wild pitch brought home a run for Cleburne in the seventh, extending the margin to 7-3.

Lincoln scored two in the bottom of the eighth on run-scoring singles from Corcino and Devine, setting the stage for the ninth inning comeback.

Tyler Anderson (3-1) earned the win with a scoreless top of the ninth. 

The Railroaders and Saltdogs continue the series on Saturday night at 7:05 PM. Right-hander Jesus Sanchez (1-0, 5.17) takes on lefty Greg Minier (8-3, 3.24) for Lincoln.

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.