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CLEBURNE, Tex. (July 2, 2019) – The Cleburne Railroaders matched a franchise record with their seventh straight victory, downing the Chicago Dogs 7-4 on Tuesday night at The Depot. The win, combined with a Sioux City loss, puts the Railroaders (23-20) in sole possession of first place in the South Division standings.

Cleburne had to rally from a pair of deficits, as the Dogs (20-20) struck first on an RBI single from Trey Vavra in the second to take a 1-0 lead. The advantage did not last long, however, as the Railroaders answered promptly with a pair of runs in the bottom of the inning. Nick Rotola tied the game with an RBI single, then Hunter Clanin came in to score on a wild pitch from Dogs starter D.J. Snelten (3-2).

The Dogs reclaimed the lead in the top of the fifth, as David Olmedo-Barerra singled home Rey Gonzalez and Jesus Sanchez (4-2) balked home a run with two outs. Sanchez picked up the win with a quality start, allowing only two earned runs over 6.1 innings while striking out six.

Chase Simpson put the Railroaders in front to stay with a three-run home run in the bottom of the fifth, giving Cleburne a 5-3 lead. Solo homers from K.C. Huth and John Nester extended the Railroaders edge, answering a seventh inning run for Chicago that came courtesy of Keon Barnum’s sacrifice fly.

The Cleburne bullpen was excellent. D.J. Sharabi retired both hitters he faced in the seventh, Nefi Ogando worked a scoreless eighth, and Tyler Wilson struck out the side in the ninth to secure his eighth save.

There was a bizarre sequence of events in the bottom of the eighth. The Railroaders had runners at first and second with two outs and a full count on Simpson. A pitch from Dogs reliever Harrison Smith missed outside, but the umpires lost track of the count and determined after a conference that the pitch was ball three. Simpson struck out on the subsequent pitch, ending the scoring threat.

The Railroaders and Dogs continue their series on Wednesday night. Righty Charlie Gilles (2-4, 4.32) gets the ball for Cleburne, while Chicago will counter with lefty Luke Westphal (5-1, 3.05). First pitch is scheduled for 7:06 PM.

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.