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LINCOLN, Neb. (Aug. 30, 2019) – For the second time in three nights, the Cleburne Railroaders could not hold an eighth inning lead as the Lincoln Saltdogs rallied for a 6-5 win on Friday night at Haymarket Park.

Cleburne (56-41) controlled the game for much of the evening thanks to some clutch hitting and a great start from Michael Gunn. In the top of the first, Zach Nehrir gave Cleburne a 1-0 lead with a line drive solo homer off John Brownell on the fifth pitch of the game.

The Railroaders extended the lead in the third. K.C. Huth started the inning with a single, moved to second on a sacrifice bunt and came in to score when Daniel Robertson’s single into left was misplayed by Nick Schulz.

Angel Reyes made it 4-0 with a two-out, two-run single in the top of the fifth.

Schulz cut the lead in half with a two-run homer in the bottom of the sixth inning, a rare mistake made by Gunn, who pitched brilliantly over six innings. He allowed only three hits, struck out seven and walked one.

Robertson drilled an RBI double into the left field corner in the top of the seventh to get a run back for the ‘Roaders, scoring Trowbridge from first with two outs. Randolph Oduber answered with a solo home run in the bottom of the seventh to make the score 5-3.

Braden Pearson retired the first two hitters he faced in the eighth, but Jared Wilson (0-1) ran into trouble afterwards. A two-out walk to Curt Smith brought up Josh Mazzola, who hit a sinking liner into center that bounced in front of a diving Nehrir. Nehrir’s throw to third base skipped into the dugout, allowing Smith to score and sending Mazzola to third. Oduber walked on four pitches, then Daniel Herrera slammed the first pitch he saw into the right field corner for a two-run double that gave Lincoln the lead.

Reese Gregory tossed a scoreless top of the ninth to secure his fourth save, earning a win for Austin Boyle (4-2), who set Cleburne down in order in the eighth.

The Railroaders now head to Fargo for their final series of the regular season against the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks. First pitch of Saturday’s series opener is scheduled for 6:00 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.