CLEBURNE, Texas — A 3-6 road trip for the Cleburne Railroaders came to an end on a high note in Gary, Indiana, on May 31. It was another massive day at the plate from first baseman Frankie Tostado that helped provide an 11-2 win over the Gary SouthShore RailCats (7-8). Cleburne improved to 6-10 on the year.
Tostado’s 3-for-4 performance at the plate included a three-run home run, two runs scored and six RBIs overall in the win. Delino DeShields Jr., Cody Thomas, Brantley Bell, Christian Almanza and Oscar Hernandez all drove in a run as well. Cleburne put the game to rest with four runs in the eighth inning.
DeShields Jr.’s RBI was his 12th of the season, moving him into a tie for the team lead with Cole Foster. Thomas and Almanza both recorded their 11th RBI of the season, putting them in a tie for second-most on the club.
Thomas deserves a note for his performance at the plate on May 27 in a 7-6 loss to the Chicago Dogs. Thomas became the first Railroader with a multihome run game in 2026, knocking his first two of the season out of the park while going 2-for-4 with two RBIs and two runs scored. The Roaders could not power their way to victory, but Carter Aldrete (2) and Caleb McNeely (1) also left the yard.
As the road trip shifted back to Gary, Leam Mendez provided yet another strong performance on the mound, setting a new season high for himself and the club with nine strikeouts in a 4-3 loss on May 29.
On May 30, Ben Hampton (4.32 ERA) provided seven strong innings in another 4-3 loss, allowing just three runs. Hampton’s seven innings are the deepest a Railroader starter has gone this season outside of Mendez (2.81 ERA, 16.0 IP, 19 K), who went six innings on May 23 in a 1-0 win at Gary.
Cleburne tallied 32 runs on 53 hits in the final six games of the road trip. Hernandez (.351 AVG), Aldrete (.349 AVG), Bell (.314 AVG) and Tostado (.310 AVG) are pacing the offense, batting above .300. Thomas is hovering around that mark with a .295 average while tied for the team lead in plate appearances with Bell at 73 PA.
May 26 at Chicago: 9-8 L
May 27 at Chicago: 7-6 L
May 28 at Chicago: 4-1 L
May 29 at Gary: 4-3 L
May 30 at Gary: 4-3 L
May 31 at Gary: 11-2 W
Up Next
The Railroaders return home to La Moderna Field with a six-game homestand on tap against the defending champion Kane County Cougars. The Cougars (10-5) head to Cleburne off a 4-0 win against the Lincoln Saltdogs.
Come join us at the ballpark this week for ’80s Night on Wednesday, June 3. Friday, June 5, will also feature fireworks after the game, and the highly anticipated Railroaders-themed Hawaiian shirt giveaway will take place for the first 1,000 fans on Saturday, June 6. You definitely don’t want to miss it.
All games can be streamed for free on aabaseball.tv with Brad Allred and Luke Backman on the call for your home team.
The first five games of this homestand, Tuesday through Saturday, are all scheduled for a 7:06 p.m. CT start, while Sunday is set to get rolling at 6:06 p.m. CT.
