th 28 YEAR 22 WINNING SEASONS 19 PLAYOFF APPEARAN CES 1994 CHAMPIONS 2012 CHAMPIONS 2016 CHAMPIONS 2017 CHAMPIONS WINNIPEG GOLDEYES 2021 GAME INFORMATION GAME: #25 ROAD GAME: #14 WINNIPEG GOLDEYES (10-14) at CLEBURNE RAILROADERS (11-15) THURSDAY, JUNE 17th , 2021 – THE DEPOT AT CLEBURNE STATION – 7:06 PM TONIGHT’S STARTING PITCHERS: WIN: RHP Pete Perez (0-0, 2.89) CLE: TBA GOLDEYES TOP RAILROADERS IN CLEBURNE: The Winnipeg Goldeyes beat the Cleburne Railroaders 10-4 at The Depot at Cleburne Station on Wednesday. Winnipeg took a 1-0 lead on a Raul Navarro sacrifice fly in the top of the fourth. Wes Darvill’s RBI groundout in the top of the fifth made it 2-0. In the top of the sixth, Navarro hit a two-run double while Lachance tacked on an RBI triple to open up a 5-0 advantage. After the Railroaders scored a two-out run in the bottom of the sixth, Winnipeg re-extended the lead in the seventh on a Logan Hill two-out single. The Goldeyes broke the game open in the top of the ninth on a three-run home run from Kyle Martin and an RBI single from Lachance. Cleburne scored three runs in the bottom of the ninth on RBI hits from Colton Pogue and Tyler Ryan. Eduard Reyes started for the Goldeyes and picked up the win, allowing one earned run on five hits over 6.0 innings. Reyes walked one and struck out five. Ken Frosch and Kyle Thomas each worked a scoreless inning in relief of Reyes. Max Murphy set a new career-high with five base hits and has now hit safely in 11 consecutive games. Navarro has hit safely in 10 straight. Lachance tied a Goldeyes’ single-game record with two triples. ALL-TIME AGAINST THE RAILROADERS: The Winnipeg Goldeyes are 9-9 all-time against the Cleburne Railroaders, including a 7-5 record at The Depot at Cleburne Station. The Railroaders are in their fourth season and fifth overall year as a franchise. Cleburne did not participate in the 2020 season as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Goldeyes won the inaugural game at The Depot at Cleburne Station on May 18 th , 2017 by a final score of 5-3. The Railroaders were 47-53 in 2017 and 33-66 the following year before undergoing significant changes in ownership and on-field personnel. Former Wichita Wingnuts’ general manager Josh Robertson was named Director of Baseball Operations. Robertson oversaw the construction of Wingnuts’ rosters throughout their entire history from 2008-18. During that span, the Wingnuts posted the highest winning percentage at any level of professional baseball and won the 2014 American Association championship. Cleburne posted its first winning record in 2019 at 57-43, and missed out on the postseason as a result of a tiebreaker. Former Major League pitcher Mike Jeffcoat takes over as manager in 2021. Jeffcoat logged over 500.0 innings across 10 Major League seasons for the Cleveland Indians, San Francisco Giants, Texas Rangers, and Florida Marlins. Jeffcoat previously served as head coach at Texas Wesleyan University from 2002-18. Former Winnipeg Blue Bombers punter Jon Ryan joined the Railroaders’ ownership group leading into the 2021 season. Ryan played for the Seattle Seahawks from 2008-17, helping them win the 2014 Super Bowl. Prior to 2017, the city of Cleburne had not enjoyed professional baseball since 1906 when the original Railroaders won the Texas League championship. Hall of Fame outfielder Tris Speaker, who amassed 3,515 Major League base hits, began his professional career with the 1906 club. SERIES MATCHUP: The Winnipeg Goldeyes are 10-14, in fifth place in the American Association North Division, and 6.0 games behind the Chicago Dogs. The Goldeyes just lost two of three to the Sioux Falls Canaries at The Ballpark at Jackson. The Goldeyes are third in the American Association in hitting (.271), 10th in pitching (5.94), and fourth in fielding (.981). The Cleburne Railroaders are 11-15, in fifth place in the South Division, and 5.5 games behind the Sioux City Explorers. The Railroaders were just swept in a three-game series against the RedHawks at Newman Outdoor Field. The Railroaders are tied for fourth in the league in batting (.270), seventh in pitching (4.80), and tied for eighth in defence (.975). This is the first of two head- to-head series this season between the Goldeyes and Railroaders. The Goldeyes were 3-3 against the Railroaders in 2019. PROJECTED UPCOMING PITCHING MATCHUPS TONIGHT’S STARTERS: The Goldeyes go with right- 6/18 at KCM: TBA vs. TBA hander Pete Perez who is 0-0 with a 2.89 ERA in four relief 6/19 at KCM: TBA vs. TBA appearances this season. Perez last pitched on Friday, 6/20 at KCM: TBA vs. TBA working 4.0 shutout relief innings as part of an 8-5 win vs. Sioux Falls. Over his past two appearances, Perez has combined for 7.1 relief innings, allowing one unearned run. Prior to this season, Perez last pitched in 2019 for the Texas AirHogs where he was 2-2 with a 2.51 ERA in 23 relief appearances. Perez walked 10 and struck out 30 over 32.1 innings pitched. Perez was undrafted out of Tarleton State University (Stephenville, Texas) following his senior season in 2013 and signed with the Frontier League’s Southern Illinois Miners. After posting a 3.03 ERA in 38.2 innings for the Miners, Perez had his contract purchased by the Atlanta Braves. Perez is in his seventh season of professional baseball, and is 11-17 lifetime with 21 saves and a 3.81 ERA in 145 appearances, five of them as a starting pitcher. Perez has averaged 8.8 strikeouts per nine innings during his career. Perez is 0-1 with a 1.69 ERA in three career relief appearances against the Railroaders. Perez is 0-1 with a 1.69 ERA in three career relief appearances at The Depot at Cleburne Station. The Railroaders have not yet announced their starting pitcher for tonight’s game. GOLDEYES MANAGER: Rick Forney is now in his 16 th season as Goldeyes’ manager, and his 25 th overall within the organization. During his first 15 years at the helm, the Goldeyes have posted a .544 overall winning percentage (784-657), 11 winning seasons, nine playoff appearances, and an American Association-record three championships. Forney was voted American Association Manager of the Year in 2011, and again in 2020 after guiding a team that played all of its games on the road. Forney’s .551 winning percentage in the American Association (2011-20) is the fourth-highest in league history (there have been 58 total American Association managers through the 2020 season). Forney pitched professionally for 10 years, including four seasons with the Goldeyes. During his playing career, Forney was 89-56 (.614) with a 3.63 ERA, and reached the Triple-A level in 1995. TENNESSEE BOUND: Due to the ongoing closure of the Canada/US border, the Winnipeg Goldeyes have partnered with the Jackson Generals professional baseball club to host Winnipeg at The Ballpark at Jackson to begin the 2021 season. The Generals were a Double-A Southern League affiliate of the Chicago Cubs, Seattle Mariners, and Arizona Diamondbacks from 1998-2019. The franchise hosted the Southern League All-Star Game on two occasions, and won four Southern League championships. The Generals are located in Jackson, Tennessee, which is 208 kilometres southwest of Nashville and 140 kilometres northeast of Memphis. MAD MAX: Goldeyes’ outfielder Max Murphy set a career-high with five base hits on June 16 th at Cleburne. Murphy had collected four hits in one game on seven previous occasions. TRIPLE THREAT: Goldeyes’ infielder Kevin Lachance tied a franchise single-game record with two triples on June 16 th at Cleburne. The record was last accomplished by Josh Romanski on July 2 nd , 2016 vs. Sioux Falls. MURPHY NAMED BATTER OF THE WEEK: Winnipeg Goldeyes’ outfielder Max Murphy was named American Association Batter of the Week for June 7th -13 th . Murphy was 11-for-19 (.579) with four runs scored, three doubles, a triple, two home runs, and six RBI in five games. THOMPSON HEADED TO CARDINALS: Right-handed pitcher Cory Thompson had his contract purchased by the St. Louis Cardinals on Thursday. Thompson had one save and a 0.00 ERA in 12.0 innings pitched, striking out 19 and walking only four. Thompson is the fifth Goldeye to have his contract purchased by a Major League organization in 2021, and the 84 th in franchise history. DOUBLE DOWN: Following postponements last Tuesday and Wednesday, the Winnipeg Goldeyes now have 10 double headers that have either been played or remain on their 2021 schedule. The 10 double headers would set a franchise record. The Goldeyes played nine double headers during the 2009 season. The pandemic-shortened 2020 season ranks next with seven double headers. GOLDEYES SIGN CANADIAN RIGHT-HANDER: The Winnipeg Goldeyes signed right-handed pitcher Jake Polancic on Thursday. Polancic was 2-0 with a 0.92 ERA in 20 relief appearances in 2019 for the Short Season-A Northwest League’s Hillsboro Hops (Arizona Diamondbacks). The North Vancouver, British Columbia native was drafted by Arizona in the 11 th round in 2016 and played his junior career with the Langley Blaze. GOLDEYES LAND FORMER THIRD ROUNDER: The Winnipeg Goldeyes signed catcher Austin Rei on Tuesday. Rei played seven games earlier this season for the Double-A Central League’s Amarillo Sod Poodles (Arizona Diamondbacks).