SIOUX CITY, Iowa— Through seven innings, it seemed as if the Sioux City Explorers (13-8) would rattle off another comeback victory against the Cleburne Railroaders (13-8). A five-run eighth inning was unforeseen, and the Railroaders slugged their way to victory, winning 7-3 and evening the series.
Sioux City’s ace Kyle Marman (2-2) got the start and seemed to force an inning-ending double play in the top of the first, but the umpire ruled Nick Shumpert was off the bag, placing runners at second and third with two outs. Steven Rivas cashed in for Cleburne with a double off the top of the wall, bringing in both runs and taking an opening-frame lead for the second day in a row.
Derek Craft (2-0) made his first career professional start after 102 prior relief appearances. His last start came in his final year of college in 2018 with the UTSA Roadrunners.
The former New York Yankees farmhand dazzled for the Railroaders, tossing seven strong innings and allowing just one earned run in the outing. He ran into a bit of trouble in the third inning with runners at second and third and two outs.
Luis Toribio smoked a 2-0 pitch to second base that was too much for Dustin Peterson to handle. Shumpert crossed the plate, cutting the lead in half at 2-1.
After that rocky first inning, Kyle Marman settled in. After Rivas’s double, the former Florida Atlantic Owl retired 19 of the next 21 batters, working through the seventh inning.
In the bottom of the seventh, the X’s finally evened up the score. With one out and nobody on, Austin Davis slammed a wall-scraping home run just out of the reach of Aaron Altherr in left field, tying the game at two.
No one expected Marman to come out for the eighth inning after throwing 111 pitches, but he emerged from the dugout to face Andres Sosa, who doubled to start the inning, and that would be it for Marman. He tossed another gem, allowing just one earned run, but it wasn’t enough to notch his third victory of the season.
Once the X’s removed their ace, Cleburne’s offense ignited. Eleven batters would come to the plate in the inning, five recorded hits, five scored, and when the smoke cleared, Sioux City had fallen behind 7-2.
The Explorers responded in the bottom of the inning, picking up one run, but the real story was the length of the inning as a whole. The entire eighth inning lasted 48 minutes and included six runs scored, 18 total hitters, three pitching changes, and at least two ejections.
Taylor Broadway shut the door in the ninth, and Cleburne snapped the X’s three-game winning streak. What looked like another thrilling comeback bid turned into a night of missed chances and frustration for the X’s, who now look to bounce back in the series finale tomorrow.
The three-game series concludes Sunday. First pitch is set for 4:05 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.