Brett, Nehrir Power Railroaders over RailCats, 4-3
CLEBURNE, Tex. (July 5, 2019) – Three Cleburne relievers tossed four scoreless innings as the Railroaders snuck past the Gary SouthShore RailCats 4-3 on Friday night at The Depot. It was the first win over the RailCats at The Depot in franchise history.
D.J. Sharabi, Martire Garcia and Tyler Wilson preserved a one-run lead over the final four innings, allowing just three singles. Their efforts earned a third consecutive win for Stephen Johnson (3-0), who gutted his way through five innings, allowing three runs on five hits.
For the second straight night, Cleburne (25-21) faced a sizeable early deficit. The RailCats (20-24) put their first four runners of the game aboard, capped by a bases-loaded walk to Colin Willis that gave Gary SouthShore a 1-0 lead. Wilfredo Gimenez doubled the advantage via a sacrifice fly, scoring Evan Marzilli on a close play at the plate.
The RailCats made it 3-0 in the second when Marzilli sliced a run-scoring triple to center, plating Marcus Mooney.
Cleburne got back on level terms with a three-run third inning. K.C. Huth slapped an RBI single, then Zach Nehrir tied it up with a two-out, two-run homer to left.
Ryan Brett ultimately provided the winning run with a solo shot in the bottom of the fourth, sneaking a fly ball just over the wall in left against RailCats starter Jumpei Akanuma (2-1). It was Brett’s fourth home run of the season, and his second since joining the Railroaders.
Sharabi pitched out of trouble in the sixth with a big strikeout to strand two runners, then Garcia tossed the seventh and the eighth. Wilson pitched a 1-2-3 ninth to register his tenth save, getting some help from Huth on a tremendous sliding catch to retire Alex Crosby for the second out of the inning.
The Railroaders and RailCats continue their series on Saturday night at 7:06 PM. Lefty Michael Gunn (3-0, 3.48) starts for Cleburne, while Gary SouthShore will counter with fellow southpaw Trevor Lubking (4-3, 3.91).
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.
By Denning Gerig
