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CLEBURNE, Tex. (Aug. 17, 2019) – The Cleburne Railroaders secured their first-ever sweep of the Sioux City Explorers with a 4-2 win on Saturday night at The Depot at Cleburne Station.

Cleburne (50-35) scored two runs in each of the first two innings to grab a 4-0 lead. Angel Reyes hooked a double down the third base line to score the first run of the night, then John Nester lifted a sacrifice fly to double the advantage.

In the second, Grant Buck dumped an RBI single into left to score Ryan Brett, who started the inning with a hit by pitch. Two hitters later, Daniel Robertson plated another run with a fielder’s choice.

The lead stood up thanks to the efforts of Charlie Gillies (5-7), who pitched around trouble for five shutout innings. He stranded the bases loaded in the second, got around a one-out double in the third, then pulled off his most impressive escape act in the fourth. Sioux City (46-38) loaded the bases with nobody out on three consecutive walks, but Gillies induced a pop out from Sebastian Zawada and then got Dylan Kelly to ground into a 4-6-3 double play to escape the jam.

Gillies worked his only 1-2-3 inning of the night in the fifth, exiting with the 4-0 lead still intact.

John Shull fired a scoreless sixth, then D.J. Sharabi tossed a zero in the seventh in his final appearance with the club before he departs to play for Team Israel. Nefi Ogando allowed the first two runners to reach in the eighth, but Nester threw out Jose Sermo trying to steal third and Ogando retired the next two to escape yet again.

In the ninth, Sioux City finally cashed in on their opportunities. A ground out started the inning, but back-to-back hits against Braden Pearson put runners at the corners for Nate Samson. Brent Clevlen called upon closer Tyler Wilson, whose first pitch was grounded down the third base line for an RBI double. Wilson bucked down, however, getting Jeremy Hazelbaker on a ground out to second and Sermo on strikes to nail down his 21st save of the season.

Taylor Jordan (5-10) took the loss for Sioux City, allowing four earned runs on five hits over 6.0 innings.

The Railroaders now take to the road for a three-game series against the Sioux Falls Canaries. First pitch of the series opener on Sunday is scheduled for 6:05 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.