Well-Rounded Performances Secure First Series Win of the Season
AA Cleburne Railroaders

Well-Rounded Performances Secure First Series Win of the Season

Published on May 26, 2026 under American Association (AA)
Cleburne Railroaders News Release


CLEBURNE, Texas - A quality start on the road from Leam Mendez and a 16-hit offensive outburst led the Cleburne Railroaders to their first series win of 2026 against the Gary SouthShore RailCats. Gary (3-6) took the series opener 5-0 on May 22 before Cleburne (5-5) rallied to win the final two games of the series. Saturday, May 23 - Cleburne Railroaders 1, Gary SouthShore RailCats 0

Mendez delivered six shutout innings without issuing a walk, allowing three hits and striking out three. He lowered his ERA to 2.70 on the season. Mendez turned the ball over to Ryder Yakel, the Railroaders' newest acquisition, who pitched a scoreless inning before Davis Smith followed with one of his own.

Ben Leeper earned the save, his second of the season, after escaping a bases-loaded jam in the ninth inning. Leeper induced a high infield popup to end the game. Cleburne scored the game's lone run in the sixth inning on an RBI single by Carter Aldrete that scored Brantley Bell.

Frankie Tostado, Cole Foster, Oscar Hernandez, Bell and Aldrete each recorded one hit for Cleburne. Sunday, May 24 - Cleburne Railroaders 9, Gary SouthShore RailCats 4

Bell, Aldrete and Foster continued their strong performances at the plate with three hits apiece. Christian Almanza also contributed, going 3-for-5 with a run scored and two RBIs. Almanza leads the team with 10 RBIs this season.

Aldrete and Foster each drove in two runs, while Cody Thomas finished 1-for-5 with two RBIs. Aldrete's .372 batting average leads the team.

Conner Richardson (3.38 ERA) earned his second win of the season after allowing one hit and striking out three over two scoreless innings in relief of Bodi Rascon. Rascon surrendered three runs on three hits while striking out two across three innings.

Ben Hampton provided four innings of relief and earned his second save of the season. Hampton allowed two hits and one run while striking out four.

The Railroaders now hop over to Chicago for a three-game series against the Chicago Dogs (3-6) before returning to Gary for another three-game set. Cleburne enters the series 1.5 games behind the division lead.

First pitch in Chicago is scheduled 5/26 at 6:30 p.m. CDT. Cleburne returns home June 2 for a six-game homestand against the division-leading Kane County Cougars. All American Association games can be streamed live on aabaseball.tv.

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