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St. Paul, MIN. (July 25, 2019) – Six shutout innings from Charlie Gillies and a two-run home from Zach Nehrir was enough for the Cleburne Railroaders to fend off the St. Paul Saints 4-2 on Thursday night at CHS Field. The victory marked Cleburne’s ninth consecutive series win, and handed the Saints their first series loss at home in 2019.

Gillies (4-5) allowed a baserunner in every inning, but used a pair of double plays and some big pitches to strand seven St. Paul runners, including five in scoring position. The right-hander struck out four and walked two, surrendering seven hits.

For the second straight night, it was some early charity from the Saints (40-23) that allowed Cleburne to grab a first inning lead. After Daniel Robertson and Angel Reyes started the game with singles, a ground ball from Chase Simpson snuck through the legs of St. Paul first baseman John Silviano for an error that scored both runners. The Railroaders (37-25) then doubled the lead in the third on Nehrir’s eighth home run of the season, a new career-high for the Cleburne outfielder that pushed the Cleburne advantage to 4-0.

All four runs came against St. Paul starter Benji Waite (0-1), who allowed eight hits over six innings, striking out five and walking two.

Dan Motl got the Saints on the board in the seventh with a two-run home run off Daniel Hurtado that trimmed the lead to 4-2. Nefi Ogando cruised through the bottom of the eighth on just eight pitches, but Tyler Wilson ran into trouble in the ninth. A pair of singles brought the tying run to the plate in the form of Saints slugger Brady Shoemaker, who had already reached three times in the game. On an 0-1 pitch, Shoemaker hit a high fly ball to shallow center that Nehrir tracked down with a running catch to secure the win. It was Wilson’s 16th save of the season.

The Railroaders and Saints conclude their series on Friday night. Right-hander Jesus Sanchez (6-2, 3.16) starts for Cleburne, while St. Paul will counter with fellow righty Jake Matthys (7-3, 5.81). First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 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.