CLEBURNE, Texas – All three Cleburne Railroaders starters carried starts through at least 6.1 innings while the offense provided timely hitting to lead the Railroaders (30-26) to a three-game sweep of the Sioux City Explorers.
The sweep concludes the first three games of a seven-game homestand that wraps up Wednesday, July 22. The West Division-leading Kansas City Monarchs now travel to Cleburne for a four-game set that will feature a doubleheader Wednesday beginning at 4:05 p.m.
Friday, July 17 – Cleburne Railroaders 10, Sioux City Explorers 0
John Baker got the start Friday against Sioux City and was in control from the first pitch. Baker worked out of a bases-loaded jam in the third inning with a 2-0 cushion, and from that point on, he allowed just one baserunner on a double. Baker handed the ball to Davis Smith after 7.0 innings, allowing three hits while striking out eight. Buddy Reed also provided an inning of hitless work in the ninth.
In the meantime, every Railroader reached base while the offense pushed a run across in every inning Friday night.
Delino DeShields Jr. (3-for-5, R), Cody Thomas (2-for-5, 2 R) and Carter Aldrete (1-for-5) each drove in two runs. Thomas homered for the sixth time in 2026 with a two-run shot in the fourth inning. Caleb McNeely and Mallex Smith also each drove in a run.
Saturday, July 18 – Cleburne Railroaders 5, Sioux City Explorers 4 (10 innings)
Scott Ellis picked up right where Baker left off. Ellis provided 7.1 scoreless innings, allowing just two hits while striking out six. Thomas homered for the second consecutive night, his seventh of the season, with a solo shot in the fourth inning to provide Cleburne’s only run before extra innings.
A run in the ninth inning and a three-run homer in the 10th inning by Sioux City forced Cleburne to rally in the bottom of the 10th.
After the first two hitters in the inning were retired, it flipped back over to the top of the Cleburne lineup, where McNeely was hit by a pitch. Frankie Tostado singled to bring home the ghost runner, Aldrete, and advanced McNeely to second. DeShields laced a double, scoring McNeely and moving Tostado to third, making DeShields the winning run at second.
Cole Foster swung at the first pitch he saw after Thomas drew a walk. The ball just snuck through the middle of the infield and into center field, allowing Tostado and DeShields to score and giving Cleburne its first walk-off win of the season — and its first since Opening Day 2025.
Sunday, July 19 – Cleburne Railroaders 6, Sioux City Explorers 5
Aaron Mishoulam followed up his rotation mates’ performances with his longest outing of the season. The Explorers got to Mishoulam for two runs in the second inning and another in the seventh, but he exited after 6.1 innings, striking out five with a 6-3 lead.
The Railroaders struck for six runs in the fourth, thanks largely to a bases-clearing double by Mallex Smith with the bases loaded. He finished 1-for-4 with three RBIs. Aldrete picked up his 34th RBI, while McNeely added two more to his team-leading total, pushing him to 48 RBIs this year. He sits fourth in the American Association overall.
Davis Smith was tasked with the save, and he delivered with a quick ninth inning, striking out two to preserve the one-run lead. It was Smith’s third save of the year. The Railroaders improved to 7-1 at home in July with eight home games remaining this month.
Looking Ahead
The Kansas City Monarchs (33-22) are coming off a series loss to the Kane County Cougars, but they did win the final game of the series Sunday, 18-1, before departing for Cleburne. The Monarchs sport the second-best run differential in the league at plus-97. Cleburne is one of just five teams in the league with a positive run differential, now at plus-18.
The Railroaders sit four games out of first place in the East Division, with the Milwaukee Milkmen (34-22) leading the Lake Country DockHounds (31-23) by two games. The Milkmen come to La Moderna Field for a six-game set to close July and open August.
