Cleburne, TX – The Gary SouthShore RailCats looked like they were on their way to a comfortable win, but the Cleburne Railroaders produced five unanswered runs to combat an early four-run deficit and grab a 5-4 victory.
In the early goings, though, the RailCats used their power stroke to pull ahead. LG Castillo launched a three-run home run in the top of the first, and Tom Walraven followed up with a solo shot in the fourth, his third home run of the series, to put the RailCats ahead 4-0.
From that point forward, the Railroaders began to chip away at the Gary SouthShore lead as they mounted a comeback. After making the first two outs of the fourth inning, Kacy Clemens kicked off a rally by lining a double to left field. Hill Alexander drove him home one batter later by singling to center field, and a pair of errors allowed him to score, cutting the ‘Cats advantage in half at 4-2.
The next inning, Cleburne once again got their bats going with two outs. A Chuck Taylor walk and Zach Nehrir base hit set Chase Simpson up to pull the Railroaders within one through his single.
As the game-tying run stood on third base, the RailCats turned to Julio Vivas out of the bullpen to keep their advantage intact. Immediately, he coaxed a fly out from Kacy Clemens to pull the ‘Cats out of trouble.
After retiring the side in the sixth, Vivas had to bail the RailCats out a second time in the seventh. A single, stolen base, and groundout placed the tying run at third base with two outs, but Vivas got Nehrir to ground out and alleviated the threat.
However, the Railroaders broke through in the bottom of the eighth. A single and a walk positioned runners on first and second with no outs, and a fielder’s choice moved the tying run up to third base. On that play, while the RailCats infield tried to turn two, an errant throw escaped the field of play, enabling the tying run to score. The next batter, Jacob Bockelie, lifted a sacrifice fly to bring in the go-ahead run, supplying Cleburne a 5-4 edge heading into the ninth.
Even as they faced their final three outs, the RailCats refused to go down without a fight. Walraven singled and stole second base with two outs, setting a runner in scoring position to give them a shot to level the score. Nevertheless, the Railroader bullpen came up clutch as they recorded the final out to secure their second win in a row.
The RailCats look to even the series against the Railroaders at 7:06 p.m. tomorrow at The Depot at Cleburne Station. All the action will be streamed on www.aabaseball.tv, 95.9 WEFM, and the Gary SouthShore RailCats Broadcast Network through the Mixlr app.
