Article By:

LINCOLN, Neb. (Aug. 28, 2019) – Curt Smith led off the bottom of the 12th inning with a solo home run that gave the Lincoln Saltdogs a 9-8 win over the Cleburne Railroaders on Wednesday night at Haymarket Park.

Smith took a 1-2 pitch from Braden Pearson (3-3) on to the berm in left-center, ending a four-and-a-half-hour affair that saw Cleburne squander a number of opportunities. The ‘Roaders stranded 12 runners on base, including 10 in scoring position.

Cleburne took a 1-0 lead in the first inning on a two-out RBI single from John Nester, but Lincoln (39-55) hit three homers over the next three innings to take the lead. Forrestt Allday cranked a solo shot in the first, then Cody Regis and Josh Mazzola connected for two-run blasts in the second and third that put Lincoln in front 5-2.

Angel Rosa blasted his third home run of the season in the fourth to pull the Railroaders within 5-3.

An RBI single from Chase Simpson and a run-scoring double from Ryan Brett in the top of the fifth tied the game at 5-5, but a double play ended the inning with the bases loaded.

A wild pitch gave Lincoln a 6-5 edge in the bottom of the fifth, but Zach Nehrir tied the game in the next half inning with a sacrifice fly and Angel Reyes gave Cleburne the lead with an RBI double. Trowbridge then added an RBI single in the seventh that put the Railroaders in front 8-6.

The lead would not last, however, as Lincoln started the eighth with three consecutive singles to cut the margin to 8-7. Daniel Herrera tied the game with an RBI groundout.

The score stayed tied into the 12th inning thanks to good work from Lincoln’s Austin Boyle and Cleburne’s Tyler Wilson, who struck out four over two scoreless innings.

Martire Garcia (4-3) picked up the win for Lincoln with a zero in the top of the 12th.

Cleburne and Lincoln continue the series with game two on Thursday night at 7:05 PM. Eudis Idrogo (8-5, 4.74) gets the ball for the Railroaders, Spencer Herrmann (2-4, 6.45) counters for the Saltdogs.

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.