CLEBURNE, TX— The Sioux City Explorers (38-21) flexed their depth and dominance in a doubleheader sweep of the Cleburne Railroaders (28-30), taking Game One 2-0 before rolling to a 6-1 win in the nightcap. With the sweep, the Explorers tightened their grip on the West Division race and continued one of the league’s hottest stretches.
The first five innings of the twin bill saw Austin Drury (5-1) and Mike Shawaryn (2-8) steamroll through a pitcher’s duel. The Explorers picked up just three hits off the former Major Leaguer and scored the only run to that point on Kurtis Byrne’s second-inning sacrifice fly.
Torin Montgomery provided the X’s some breathing room in the sixth, knocking in Osvaldo Tovalin on an RBI single.
Both pitchers went the distance. Drury, the lefty, scattered four hits over seven shutout innings, capping his outing by retiring the final 14 batters.
Cooper Weiss set the tone for Cleburne in game two, turning on Jared Wetherbee’s (8-1) 1-0 pitch in the bottom of the first inning for a solo home run. D’Shawn Knowles returned the favor in the next half-inning for Sioux City with an RBI double in the left-center gap.
Knowles knocked in another on a swinging bunt down the third base line in the fourth. A batter later, Kurtis Byrne (the TCU alum who played college ball just 26 miles from LaModerna field) doubled to deep center field, driving in two and increasing Sioux City’s advantage to 4-1.
The Explorers tacked on two more runs later in the frame, chasing Cleburne’s starter Dakota Chalmers (0-1) from the game. Sioux City rode the 6-1 lead through the rest of the game, not needing a reliever in the doubleheader and taking a half-game lead over the Kansas City Monarchs in the West Division.
The Explorers have off Monday before starting a three-game set with Lincoln. All start times are 7:05 p.m.Ticket packages for the 2025 season are on sale now, including Full and Half-Season Tickets as well as 10-, 15-, and 25-game Flex Packs. For more information, please call the Explorers front office at 712-277-WINS. Stay tuned to the Explorers’ social media channels and the club’s website, xsbaseball.com, for all our news and updates.