Ornelas Homers Twice in Final Game of the Season

Las Vegas 6 El Paso 5 – Sunday
WP: O’Loughlin (3-5)
LP: Gillaspie (4-2)
S: None
Time: 2:20
Attn: 9,395

The Las Vegas Aviators scored three times in the bottom of the ninth inning to come back and beat the El Paso Chihuahuas 6-5 on the final day of the season. Armando Alvarez hit a walk-off single with the bases loaded to give Las Vegas its first win of the series.

The loss ended El Paso’s 10-game winning streak, which was the second longest in team history. Tirso Ornelas, Cal Mitchell and Eguy Rosario entered the last game tied for the team lead in home runs with 21 each. Mitchell went 2-for-4 with a home run and two RBIs and had five home runs and 11 RBIs in the six-game series. Ornelas went 2-for-3 with two home runs, a walk and two RBIs and finished with the most homers on the team with 23. It was Ornelas’ first multi-homer game this season. El Paso trailed 3-1 in the third inning and came back to tie the score, which was the fifth time in the six-game series that the Chihuahuas came back to tie a game from multiple runs down.

Fernando Sanchez, Francis Pena, Sean Reynolds and Jayvien Sandridge all pitched scoreless relief outings Sunday for the Chihuahuas. Sandridge struck out at least one batter in each of his last 12 outings. El Paso reliever Austin Davis pitched 47.2 innings and didn’t surrender a home run, which is the new Chihuahuas’ record for most innings in a season without allowing a homer. The Chihuahuas finished their second half 33-42 and had an overall record of 64-86. They won 18 of their final 25 games.

Box Score: Gameday: Chihuahuas 5, Aviators 6 Final Score (09/22/2024) (milb.com)

Second Half Team Records: El Paso (33-42), Las Vegas (37-37)

Next Game: Friday, March 28, 2025 at Southwest University Park vs. the Salt Lake Bees.