by Alex Dean
Kansas City (37-37) was able to hold on to an early lead and take the final game against the Cleburne Railroaders (45-31), 5-1, in Texas.
The main story of the night was the pitching for the T-Bones. Starter Christian Binford (3-2) went 5 innings, allowing the only run on the night and picking up the win.
Henry Owens pitched three scoreless innings, and Carlos Diaz came in to close it out for KC. Cleburne starter Eudis Idrogo (7-4) got the loss for the Railroaders.
The T-Bones struck first on an RBI groundout by Chris Colabello off Idrago, bringing home Dylan Tice in the top of the first. KC would get three more in a three-run second inning, as Ramsey Romano hit an RBI double to bring in Tyler Marincov.
He was followed RBI singles by Dylan Tice and Daniel Nava off the Cleburne starter, running the score to 4-1.
Cleburne’s first run came in the bottom of the third, as Daniel Robertson brought home Logan Trowbridge with a sacrifice fly to left field off Binford.
Both offenses quieted down after that, as the score remained the same until Mason Davis gave the T-Bones some insurance on a home run to right field in the top of the ninth off Cleburne’s Tyler Wilson. Diaz retired the Railroaders in order in the bottom of the ninth, securing the series win for KC.
Cleburne had chances to make the game closer than it was, as Ryan Brett hit what appeared to be a triple in the bottom of the sixth, but after the T-Bones checked at first base, the umpire ruled that Brett never touched the bag and was ruled out.
Later, with Robertson at third and Angel Reyes at first, the T-Bones caught Reyes in a rundown, and alertly threw over to third to get Robertson for the out.
One of the standouts on offense for the T-Bones was Dylan Tice, who finished the game 3-5 with a run and an RBI. Daniel Nava also finished the night with three hits, while Davis and Ramsey Romano each had two.
The T-Bones will come back to Kansas City after taking the series in Cleburne, where they will face the Texas AirHogs in a weekend series, the first game beginning at 7:05 p.m. Friday, Aug. 9. The game will be on the T-Bones Broadcast Network, http://mixlr.com/t-bones-baseball/, with Dan Vaughan on the call.
Tickets to all T-Bones home games are on sale online or by calling 913-328-5618 or by visiting the Saint Luke’s Box Office between the hours of 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. Group ticket sales are also on sale.
