The season opener at home for the Fulton Railroaders was spoiled as the upstart Hoptown Hoppers regained the lead by 2 in the 9th inning.  The Hoppers scored 1 run in the 1st inning with the Railroaders matching it in the bottom half.  Top of the 3rd, Hoptown marked up another run only to lose the lead again with Fulton adding 2 more to finish the inning.  The battle continued in the 4th with the Hoppers chalking up 2 and taking a 4-3 lead.  The Railroaders answered in their half of the 4th scoring 4 runs and included a 3 RBI homer by Alex Huddleston clearing the 325 mark in right-center field.  Fulton adding 2 more runs in the 5th for a wide 9-4 lead.  Hoptown made back one run in the 6th, then the Hoppers jumped out with 3 runs each in both the 8th and 9th innings while holding the Railroaders scoreless.  Jake Sandlin's game winning RBI double drove in 2 to make the score 10-9 and then scored the final run to top off the score.  Jason McDonald earned the win in relief pitching for the last 5 innings.  The Railroaders went through 5 pitchers on the evening with Daniel Szathmary taking the loss.  Fulton mustered up 13 hits and stranded 9 runners, the Hoppers got 9 hits and left 5 on base.  Railroader pitching began strong but weakened in last 3 innings, while the Hoppers struggled at first then finished tough.  The difference ultimately came down to the Hoppers scoring 2 more earned runs than the Railroaders.