FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 2, 2024
By Dan Vaughan Jr.
EXPLORERS OFFENSE DERAILS RAILROADERS
SCHOLTEN TIES FOR TEAM LEAD IN WINS
SIOUX CITY, Iowa – John Nogowski blasted three home runs and drove in five runs as the Sioux City Explorers (49-51) closed out the 2024 regular season with a 11-3 win over the Cleburne Railroaders (60-40) at Lewis and Clark Park on a sunny Labor Day. The Railroaders, who led the league in long balls this season, saw the Explorers borrow a page from their game plan, hitting a total of four bombs on the day. Iowa State Representative turned starting pitcher J. D. Scholten (6-2) tossed 5.1 innings, surrendering three runs on three hits to tie Jared Wetherbee for the team lead in wins with six.
xScholten worked a 1-2-3 first inning to set the tone early for Sioux City. In the bottom of the first, the Explorers would get a one out double from Daniel Montano off former Sioux City pitcher Kade Mechals (5-2) who drew the starting nod for Cleburne. Nogowski would miss the first blast on a foul ball by about 15 feet but would not miss the second pitch a line shot to left to make it 2-0 Sioux City.
Cleburne would make Scholten work in the second. Scholten walked the first two batters and hit another two to bring in the first run for Cleburne. An RBI single from Jaxx Groshans and a sac fly from Bret Boswell gave the Railroaders a 3-2 lead. Scholten would buckle down and keep Cleburne off the board over the next 3.1 before exiting with one out in the sixth. The right-hander struck out back-to-back batters in the fourth inning, part of his five-strikeout performance.
Sioux City would take control of the game and grab the lead back in the bottom of the third. It would, once again, be the Montano and Nogowski combo platter against Cleburne starter Mechals. Montano would double with one out, followed by Nogowski and his second homer of the afternoon to push the lead to 4-3 in favor of Sioux City. In the home half of the fifth, Scott Ota tripled home Montano to extend the advantage to 5-3. Justin Connell then doubled to score Ota, and the lead was 6-3.
Daniel Lingua needed one stolen base to set a new single season high for the Explorers. He picked up his 49th stolen base and an RBI single in the sixth to send the X’s to a 7-3 lead. In the seventh John Nogowski lined a solo home run to left again for his third of the day and fifth RBI off reliever Joe Corbett. He would finish the year with 76 team-leading RBI and as runner up for the American Association batting title with a .346 average—just behind Jacob Teter of Chicago who finished at .349. The offense had one last hurrah for the 2024 season when Daniel Perez hit a three-run homer off Corbett to cap off the seventh for Sioux City and to make it 11-3.
Brandon Brosher would relieve Scholten in the sixth and held Cleburne in check. Jeremy Goins added a scoreless seventh inning out of the X’s pen to keep things in control for the Explorers. Kyle Bloor and Nate Gercken added another scoreless stanza each to finish off the game for Sioux City.
The Explorers split the four games with the Railroaders who finished the season as the top team in the regular season in the American Association. Sioux City will be off Tuesday, September 3 but will begin their quest for the Miles Wolff Cup in game one of the West Division Championship Series Wednesday, September 4 against the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks at Lewis and Clark Park at 7:05 p.m.. Games two and three (if necessary) will be Friday and Saturday at Newman Outdoor Field in Fargo, North Dakota with the first pitch set for 6:30 p.m.
Tickets for the division round of the American Association playoffs are on sale right now online at XSBaseball.com, in person at the Lewis and Clark Park Box Office or by calling 712-277-WINS. For more information or for media requests, please feel free to reach out at 817-739-3693. Tickets can be purchased You can catch all the X’s action on aabaseball.tv and on radio at KSCJ 94.9 FM and 1360 AM.
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