RailCats Blanked on Hot Night in Cleburne
by Ryan Zimmerman, Gary SouthShore RailCats
Cleburne, TX – The Gary SouthShore RailCats ran into a collection of pitchers that could do no wrong as the Cleburne Railroaders took a 6-0 victory.
While Cleburne’s offense launched three home runs to provide all their offense, Kody Bullard, Danny Zardon, Austin Fairchild, and Nick Gardewine combined to shut the RailCats out and level this six-game series at one apiece.
After both starters put up zeros in the first two innings, the Railroaders struck first in the bottom of the third. A pair of base hits placed runners on first and third for Chase Simpson, and he drove an inside-the-park home run to the center field wall to give Cleburne a 3-0 lead.
Though the Railroaders put traffic on the basepaths in the bottom of the fourth, RailCats reliever Aaron Phillips stepped up to hold the opposing lineup in check. He entered with a runner on second base, and he struck out the first batter he faced on four pitches to alleviate the threat.
Cleburne responded by loading the bases in the bottom of the fifth with one out, but Phillips came through once again to keep the contest close. A fielder’s choice and groundout bailed the RailCats out of trouble and stifled the Railroaders for the second consecutive frame.
However, Cleburne picked their bats back up in the sixth. Hector Sanchez smashed a leadoff home run, placing the Railroaders ahead 4-0.
The very next inning, Zach Nehrir drilled another long ball that created even more separation between the Railroaders and the RailCats. His two-run shot extended Cleburne’s advantage to six runs, supplying a comfortable cushion heading into the final two frames.
From that point forward, the bullpen had more than enough run support to finish off the victory. Even as the RailCats put pressure on the Cleburne defense through two walks and a single across the final two innings, the Railroaders stranded three ‘Cats on the basepaths to finish off the win.
The RailCats head back to The Depot at Cleburne Station for game three against the Railroaders tomorrow at 7:06 p.m. tomorrow. All the action can be found on aabaseball.tv, 95.9 WEFM, and the Gary SouthShore RailCats Broadcast Network through the Mixlr app.
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