The Kansas City T-Bones (25-14) got the bats going early in the Texas heat against the Cleburne Railroaders (14-25) on Saturday night to even the series with a 7-4 win.
Todd Cunningham lead off the first inning with a single that brought Nick Torres to the plate.
Torres then drove in Cunningham with a triple to put Kansas City on the board off Cleburne starter Michael Gunn. A fielder’s choice to short from Zach Walters drove in Torres to put the T-Bones ahead 2-0.
Cleburne made a comeback in the third inning with help from Blake Grant-Parks and K.C. Huth, who both singled to start the inning against T-Bones right-hander Tommy Collier.
Trevor Sealey was next up to the plate and advanced to first on a fielder’s choice. Levi Scott drove in two runs off a much-needed double from Levi Scott to tie the game at two.
In the sixth inning, Todd Cunningham singled for Kansas City. Zach Walters then advanced to first on a fielder’s choice putting Cunningham in scoring position.
A walk from Taylor Featherston loaded the bases and brought Dexter Kjerstad to the plate. A wild pitch from Will Mathis advanced all runners and scored Cunningham to increase the T-Bones lead to 3-2.
A sacrifice fly from Adrien Nieto and a single from Tucker Pennell brought in Walters and Featherston to make the score 5-2.
Cleburne didn’t stay quiet for long. A two-run home run from former T-Bone Angel Rosa put the Railroaders right back in the game in the bottom of the sixth inning with KC leading, 5-4.
The T-Bones’ seventh and eighth innings proved to be the difference maker in this matchup.
A sacrifice fly to left field from Zach Walters drove in Dylan Tice in the top of the seventh, followed by a ground-rule double from Cunningham in the eighth that would score Mason Davis, giving Kansas City a 7-4 lead.
Kansas City’s Tommy Collier (3-3) got the win and Carlos Diaz came in to close the game, earning his sixth save of the season. Cleburne’s Michael Gunn was credited with the loss, dropping his record to 1-1.
Sunday’s rubber match will be at The Depot at Cleburne Station in Cleburne, Texas. The first pitch is 6:05 p.m., and the game will be on the T-Bones Broadcast Network at on http://mixlr.com/t-bones-baseball/.
Right-handed pitcher Hunter Adkins (1-2, 4.29) of Kansas City will face right-handed pitcher Jared Mortenson (1-2, 2.50) in the series finale.
Individual tickets, season, group, mini-plans and nightly party suites are on sale and can be purchased by visiting the box office at T-Bones Stadium or www.tbonesbaseball.com. Box office hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday – Friday and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday.
– Story from T-Bones