Article By:

GARY, Ind. (July 13, 2019) – A game that featured a benches-clearing incident, a home run reversal and a rain delay ended with the Gary SouthShore RailCats knocking off the Cleburne Railroaders 7-0 on Saturday night at U.S. Steel Yard.

Both teams failed to dent the scoreboard through three innings, before the RailCats (22-30) grabbed a 1-0 lead in the top of the fourth on a controversial play. Wilfredo Gimenez drove a 3-0 pitch from Cleburne starter Bryan Saucedo (0-1) deep to left field that appeared to hit the top of the wall and bounce back into play. Railroaders left fielder Nick Rotola fired the ball back in to cut down Gimenez at second base, prompting an exchange of words between Saucedo and Gimenez. Both benches and bullpens emptied, but no punches were thrown and order was restored shortly thereafter. Following the fracas, the umpires determined that the ball cleared the wall in left for a home run.

With the score still 1-0 into the bottom of the fifth, a storm rolled into the area that forced a 71-minute rain delay. The RailCats came out firing immediately after the delay, pushing across five runs to extend the lead to 6-0. They would add another in the seventh to produce the game’s final margin.

Justin Sinibaldi (2-4) picked up the win for Gary SouthShore with five scoreless innings. Three different RailCats relievers tossed the final four frames to preserve the shutout.

Logan Trowbridge became the first Cleburne position player to pitch on the season with an appearance in the bottom of the eighth, working a scoreless inning in his third professional outing on the mound.

Cleburne (29-24) out-hit Gary SouthShore on the evening 10-9, but the Railroaders matched a season-high by stranding 13 runners on base.

The Railroaders and RailCats conclude their series on Sunday afternoon at 2:10 PM. Cleburne will start left-hander Eudis Idrogo (3-3, 5.50), while Gary will go with fellow lefty Seth Hougesen (0-1, 7.20).

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.