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CLEBURNE, Tex. (July 20, 2019) – Charlie Gillies retired the first 13 hitters he faced and set a new Cleburne Railroaders season-high with 11 strikeouts, guiding Cleburne to a 5-2 victory over the Milwaukee Milkmen on Saturday night at The Depot. The win is Cleburne’s sixth in a row and secured the club’s eighth consecutive series win.

Gillies (3-5) allowed only two singles over his seven dominant innings, throwing 99 pitches without issuing a walk. He departed after a lead-off single in the eighth that eventually came around to score, but faced the minimum through seven complete innings.

Milwaukee starter T.J. House (7-4) was just as good through six frames, retiring 14 Cleburne hitters in a row heading into the seventh. The Railroaders (35-24) started the inning with a single from Chase Simpson and a double from John Nester, then after a ground out, loaded the bases on a hit by pitch. With the count 3-1 on Grant Buck, House missed just inside for a bases-loaded walk to give Cleburne a 1-0 lead. On the next pitch, Nick Rotola slammed a two-run single into left, after which House was ejected for arguing with home plate umpire Clay Park.

K.C. Huth greeted new Milwaukee pitcher Tanner Kiest with a two-run double down the left field line, pushing the Cleburne lead to 5-0.

The Milkmen (24-35) did not go quietly. After recording just one hit through seven innings, Milwaukee notched six over the final two frames, scoring twice in the eighth on a sacrifice fly from Dan Ward and an RBI single from Jose Rosario. Cleburne closer Tyler Wilson ran into trouble in the ninth after a pair of singles, but recorded his 15th save by inducing a fly out and then striking out Dan Ward to end the game.

The Railroaders and Milkmen conclude their series on Sunday afternoon at 1:05 PM. Cleburne is expected to start right-hander Greyfer Eregua (2-0, 3.55), while Milwaukee counters with fellow righty Jordan Kraus (3-1, 1.99).

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.

Photo: Justin Green