Article By:

CLEBURNE, Texas (June 18, 2019) – The combination of Gan Quan, Tyler Matzek and Liu Guoqing combined to shut out the Cleburne Railroaders, as the Texas AirHogs opened the series with a 2-0 win on Tuesday night at The Depot.

The game’s only scoring came in the top of the seventh, when Jonathan Moroney led off with a double against Charlie Gillies (1-3). Chen Junpeng followed with a grounder to the right side that snuck under the glove of Daniel Robertson for an error, allowing Maroney to score. Luan Chenchen delivered a two-out, run-scoring single later in the inning to double the Texas lead.

Gillies was excellent despite taking the loss, allowing just the two unearned runs over seven innings. He struck out four and walked one, surrendering five hits. The Railroaders (13-18) threatened in several innings but never dented the scoreboard, stranding eight on the evening. The best scoring opportunity came in the bottom of the eighth when Zach Nehrir doubled and Chase Simpson singled, but Jonathan Rodriguez rolled into a 6-4-3 double play and John Nester bounced out to shortstop to end the threat.

Guoqing closed out the game’s final two innings to record his second save. Matzek (1-0) picked up the win with a scoreless sixth and seventh innings.

The Railroaders and AirHogs continue their series on Tuesday night at 7:06. Jesus Sanchez (3-2, 3.89) gets the ball for Cleburne, while Texas counters with right-hander Travis Ballew (1-3, 2.66).

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.