SIOUX CITY EXPLORERS PRESS RELEASE
Phone: 817.739.3693
Website: xsbaseball.com
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 12, 2026
OSUNA WALK-OFF COMPLETES STUNNING EIGHT-RUN COMEBACK
X’S RALLY FOR THREE IN THE NINTH
By: Andrew Della Piana
SIOUX CITY, Iowa- Sioux City (12-15) authored one of the wildest games of the season Friday night, erasing an eight‑run first‑inning deficit and walking off Cleburne (10-16) by a final of 13–11 on an Alberto Osuna blast.
A comeback so improbable that manager Steve Montgomery could only say afterward, “I’m speechless. Just telling them to just win innings.”
The night began in disaster. Cleburne sent 13 batters to the plate in the first inning, scoring eight runs on three extra‑base hits and four walks as the Explorers looked dead to rights before they even stepped to the plate.
But Sioux City slowly began to climb back, scoring four unanswered, including three in the fourth when Dillon Tatum ripped his second straight game with a two‑run double to make it 8–4.
The Railroaders punched back with three in the fifth off Rob Hughes, who nearly escaped with runners on second and third and two outs before Brantley Bell delivered a two‑run double and Carter Aldrete added an RBI single for an 11–4 lead.
Again, Sioux City looked buried, and again, they refused to fold. The Explorers erupted for six runs in the bottom half, getting key RBIs from Zane Denton and Elliot Good before Zac Vooletich lined a two‑run single with two outs to make it 11–10 and turn the game into pure chaos.
By the end of the fifth inning, all 18 starters in the lineup had recorded a hit.
Sioux City nearly tied it in the seventh when they loaded the bases, but Good grounded into a 1–2 fielder’s choice and Braulio Vasquez struck out to end the threat.
In the eighth, the Explorers put two in scoring position with nobody out after a pitch‑clock violation put Alberto Osuna aboard and Denton doubled. Osuna tried to score on a wild pitch but was tagged out at the plate, and two groundouts ended the inning as Taylor Broadway escaped to keep Cleburne ahead 11–10.
The ninth inning delivered pure theater. Vooletich reached on a hit‑by‑pitch but was caught stealing. Henry George walked, and Vasquez singled into center with George running on the pitch, allowing him to score all the way from first to tie the game 11–11.
On the very next pitch, Osuna got the chance Montgomery promised him after the eighth‑inning out, and he didn’t miss. He crushed a two‑run walk‑off homer to left, punctuating one of the most improbable comebacks and sending the dugout pouring onto the field in disbelief.
Sioux City, left for dead twice, found a way to win the only inning that mattered, the last one.
Sioux City continues the three‑game set against Cleburne on Saturday. First pitch for game two is at 6:05 p.m., with pregame coverage beginning at 5:35 p.m. on KSCJ 94.9 FM and 1360 AM. The game will also air locally in KTIV in Sioux City. Fans can also watch every American Association game this season on the league’s streaming platform at aabaseball.tv.
Notes from the Booth with DV:
-Henry George has a 13-game hitting streak and reached base in 17straight and is 18 for his last 54.
-Austin Davis stole two bases and Jackson Van De Brake one to up the X’s team total to 70.
-It was the first winb for Sioux City when trailing after six innings. They were 0-13 now 1-13.
-Braulio Vasquez has a game tying RBI and a walk off RBI this season.
-Alberto Osuna has the teams second walk off winner and he leads the team in home runs with seven.
-True rookie Nathan Mertens worked two scoreless innings.
-The bottom of the order of Van De Brake, Good and Tatum went 5-for-12 scoring five runs.
-For the second night in a row Austin Davis stole second and third in the same inning.
ABOUT THE SIOUX CITY EXPLORERS: The Sioux City Explorers are a proud member of the American Association of Professional Baseball in Sioux City, IA. The Explorers play their home games at Security National Bank Field at Lewis & Clark Park. For more information, please visit xsbaseball.com and follow the team on Twitter at @SiouxCityXs and on Facebook at facebook.com/SiouxCityExplorers.
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