Cleburne, Texas- The Cleburne Railroaders broke up a tie game in the bottom of the eighth by scoring four runs and went on to defeat the Lincoln Saltdogs, 7-3, Wednesday night at La Moderna Field. The loss spoiled a quality start by Lincoln’s Greg Loukinen and a two-home run night by Spencer Henson.
Cleburne (27-27) scored seven runs with eight hits and no errors. Lincoln (24-31) had three runs off five hits and committed one error, in a game that lasted two hours and twenty-eight minutes, in front of 1,182 fans.
The Railroaders scored in the bottom of the first. Jesus Lujano led off the bottom of the first with a single, against Lincoln starter Greg Loukinen. Lujano stole second base. Three batters later, Aaron Altherr singled, scoring Lujano to make it a 1-0 Cleburne lead.
In the bottom of the second, Cooper Weiss drew a leadoff walk. Then, Chris Kwitzer laid down a sacrifice bunt, however, Clint Coulter’s throw to first was wide, putting runners on second and third. Two batters later, Jacob Morrow hit a two-run double, down the right field line, scoring Weiss and Kwitzer, to make it a 3-0 Railroaders lead.
Lincoln got on the board in the top of the fourth. With one out, Spencer Henson hit a solo home run off Cleburne starter Derek Craft, to make the score, 3-1.
In the top of the sixth, Neyfy Castillo led off with a single. Then, Spencer Henson struck again. This time, he hit a two-run home run to left-centerfield, to tie the game at 3-3.
Cleburne broke up the tie in the bottom of the eighth. Facing Lincoln reliever Jacob Roberts, Kyle Martin led off with a walk. Two batters later, Steven Rivas singled, to put runners at first and third. Then, Cooper Weiss drew a walk, to load the bases. Lincoln went to the bullpen, bringing Matt Mullenbach in, to pitch. Chris Kwitzer hit a soft bouncing ball in front of second base. Rolando Espinosa fielded the ball and flipped to Drew DeVine at second to force out Weiss for the second out, however, Kwitzer beat DeVine’s relay throw to first, to avoid the inning-ending double play, which scored Martin, to put Cleburne in front 4-3. The next batter, Andres Sosa, hit a three-run home run, over the left-centerfield fence, to make it a 7-3 Railroaders lead.
In the top of the ninth, Cleburne reliever Kristian Scott retired the Saltdogs in order, getting Rolando Espinosa to flyout to centerfield for the final out of the game.
Railroaders starter Derek Craft pitched 7.0 innings, giving up three runs off five hits, struck out one and walked four. Kristian Scott (2-1) earned the win in relief, pitching 2.0 innings and walked one.
Lincoln starter Greg Loukinen pitched 6.0 innings, giving up three runs, two earned, off four hits, struck out seven and walked one. Jacob Roberts (1-2) took the loss, in relief, pitching 1.1 innings, giving up two runs off two hits, struck out three and walked two. Matt Mullenbach pitched 0.2 innings, yielding two runs off two hits.
Offensively for Cleburne, Jesus Lujano was 2-for-5. Aaron Altherr went 1-for-4 with an RBI. Chris Kwitzer was 0-for-4 and drove in one run. Andres Sosa was 2-for-4 with a three-run home run. Jacob Morrow went 2-for-3 and drove in two runs.
For the Saltdogs, Spencer Henson was 2-for-3 with two home runs and three runs batted in.
The rubber game of the series is Thursday night. RHP Johnny Blake (3-2, 4.36 ERA) will pitch for Lincoln. Cleburne will go with Blair Henley (1-5, 7.47 ERA) on the mound. First pitch will be 7:06 p.m. The game will be broadcast on KFOR 101.5 FM/1240 AM with audio streaming at: www.kfornow.com. Live video of the game will stream at: www.aabaseball.tv.
The next Saltdogs home game is Friday, July 11th, when Lincoln returns to Haymarket Park to play the Chicago Dogs, at 7:05 p.m. That game is a “Fireworks Friday” game with the post-game extravaganza. Also, it’s “Free Shirt Friday”, with Drew DeVine shirts thrown into the crowd, sponsored by Abante Marketing. . In addition, there will be a Saltdogs Socks Giveaway, sponsored by Schaefer’s. For tickets, merchandise, and promotional information, go to: www.saltdogs.com.