Cleburne, TX – The Cleburne Railroaders (34-34) got their offense going early and often as they took down the Gary SouthShore RailCats (29-38) 9-4.
Cleburne’s lineup got the scoring started right away as they entered the run column in the bottom of the first inning. Two home runs, a solo shot and a three-run long ball respectively, shot them ahead 4-0.
The Railroaders tacked on runs in the second and fourth innings, pulling in front 6-0, but the RailCats put a stop to their momentum with a two-spot in the top of the sixth. Jackson Valera reached on an error and Jesus Marriaga doubled to place runners on second and third, and two batters later, Francisco Del Valle grounded a single into center field to plate them both, bringing the RailCats to within four at 6-2.
However, Cleburne was quick to halt the Gary SouthShore momentum, plating two runs in the seventh before adding on one more in the eighth, taking a 9-2 advantage into the final inning.
Down to their final three outs, though, the RailCats refused to go down without a fight. Victor Nova drew a walk and Will Decker singled, placing runners on first and second with one out. A groundout advanced them each one base for Gio Díaz to drive them in. His opposite-field single resulted in another two runs, lowering the deficit to five.
Nevertheless, that was all the late-inning magic the RailCats had in them, as the Railroaders recorded the final out soon after to cement their victory.
The RailCats and Railroaders head back to La Moderna Field tomorrow for the series finale at 6:05 p.m. as Gary SouthShore has one more chance to lock down a series win. All the action will be streamed on www.aabaseball.tv as well as broadcast over the radio on 95.9 WEFM and the Gary SouthShore RailCats Broadcast Network via the Mixlr app.
