The Cleburne Railroaders brought their big bats to The Steel Yard as they brushed the Gary SouthShore RailCats aside 13-4.
Though the ‘Cats worked out of a two-on, one-out jam in the top of the first inning, the Railroaders capitalized on their first swing in the second. A solo home run quickly provided Cleburne a 1-0 lead.
However, that paled in comparison to their output in their next turn at bat. The Railroaders struck for six runs, five of which coming from home runs, to extend their advantage to seven.
Cleburne tacked on another pair in the top of the fifth, but the RailCats took the bottom of the inning to make team history. LG Castillo blasted a leadoff home run to right field to put them on the board. After a Daniel Lingua double, Jackson Smith launched a long ball of his own, giving the ‘Cats their 71st home run of the year, setting a new single-season franchise record.
Unfortunately, the Railroaders were quick to spoil the moment. Tallies in the sixth and seventh innings pushed them into into double digits, placing them ahead 11-3.
The RailCats refused to give in, though, and they clawed one run back in the bottom of the eighth. Victor Nova slapped a double into left field, and a misplay along the left field line allowed him to come home, pulling Gary SouthShore within seven runs.
After Julio Vivas shut them out in the eighth inning, the Railroaders lineup got back to work in the top of the ninth. Two runs came across through a fielder’s choice and a single to cap off the scoring and cement a 13-4 Cleburne victory.
The RailCats head to Wisconsin Brewing Company Park tomorrow as they kick off a nine-game road trip against the Lake Country DockHounds at 6:35 p.m. All the action can be found on aabaseball.tv, 95.9 WEFM, and the Gary SouthShore RailCats Broadcast Network through the Mixlr app.
