SIOUX CITY EXPLORERS PRESS RELEASE
Phone: 817.739.3693
Website: xsbaseball.com
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 31, 2023
By: Austin Thomas
X’S COME UP SHORT AGAIN IN CLEBURNE
SIOUX CITY SUFFERS FOURTH STRAIGHT LOSS
CLEBURNE, Texas – The Sioux City Explorers (10-8) added to their list of tough losses this season after the 13-7 loss Wednesday night to the Cleburne Railroaders (11-8). The X’s are 2-7 in their last nine games as they fall out of first place in the West Division, following a Fargo-Moorhead win. Cleburne passes Gary and now holds second place in the East Division after back-to-back dominant wins.
Sioux City had a chance to take an early lead in the first inning, but an unlucky bounce on a Vince Fernandez ground-rule double stopped Matt Lloyd from scoring off Cleburne starter Kody Bullard (2-0). X’s starter Austin Drury (0-1) struggled early, allowing a grand slam to former Explorer Jose Sermo to give the Railroaders a 4-0 lead. The X’s once again had a scoring opportunity in the second with runners on first and third but couldn’t bring them home. Cleburne scored two more in the bottom of the inning and grabbed a 6-0 lead.
Just when it looked like the game was getting out of hand, Sioux City scored four runs in the third on a double from Vince Fernandez and a two-RBI single for Chase Harris and an RBI-single for Eury Perez. Drury settled down and held Cleburne scoreless in the bottom of the third.
The momentum quickly switched back to Cleburne in the fourth with Cleburne scoring three to extend their lead 9-4. The X’s yet again threatened in the fifth with runners on second and third but couldn’t crack the scoreboard. Brandon Brosher relieved Drury in the fifth and had a scoreless inning to keep the X’s in it. Trey Cumbie relieved Bullard for Cleburne and didn’t allow a runner past first. Newly acquired Carlos Diaz saw his first action as an Explorer in the sixth by pitching a scoreless inning to keep it a 9-4 game.
The X’s once again saw life in the seventh with a Vince Fernandez leadoff homer, but then Cleburne scored four more off Nate Gercken to make it 13-5. Brendan Bell relieved Cumbie in the eighth for the Railroaders, pitching a perfect inning before Delvin Zinn, the shortstop, came into the game for the X’s and threw a scoreless frame. The Explorers had one final shot in the ninth, scoring two runs before Daniel Perez grounded into a double play while Miguel Sierra was retired at the plate for the final out.
The Explorers and Railroaders play the final game of the four-game series Thursday night at La Moderna Field. The first pitch is scheduled for 7:06 p.m. with the pregame starting at 6:35 p.m. on KSCJ and aabaseball.tv. The X’s return home to begin a three-game series against the Kane County Cougars Friday, June 2, at Mercy Field at Lewis and Clark Park.
Tickets for the season can be purchased online at XSBaseball.com, in person at the Lewis and Clark Park Box Office or by calling 712-277-WINS. You can catch all the X’s action on aabaseball.tv and on radio at KSCJ 94.9 FM and 1360 AM.