Aces Take Five Against Aviators in Final Road Trip

The Reno Aces finished their final chapter of the Silver State Diamond Challenge with five victories over the Las Vegas Aviators this past week. Throughout the season, Reno owns a 22-8 record against Las Vegas.

The bats awoke early for the Aces Tuesday night with a season-high 23 hits in their 17-5 rout over the Aviators. Dominic Canzone led Reno’s offensive attack with a 4-for-5 effort, including a pair of homers, three RBI and three runs scored. This was Canzone’s first multi-homer game at the Triple-A level. Blake Rogers earned his first Triple-A win with 1.1 scoreless innings, allowed one hit, no walks and no strikeouts.

A key two-run homer from Dominic Fletcher in the fifth inning was the difference-maker for Reno in a 5-2 win against Las Vegas Wednesday night. Tied at one apiece in the fifth, Fletcher launched a two-run shot to right for a 3-1 Reno lead. Reno’s relief corps held the Aviators to just one run in the remaining innings to preserve the 3-2 win. Paul Fry earned his first victory as an Ace with 1.1 scoreless innings, allowed no hits, no walks and fanned two batters in relief. Mitchell Stumpo registered his eighth save of the season after the Guilford College product tossed a scoreless ninth, allowed no hits, one walk and fanned two batters.

A homer and three-RBI night from Canzone led Reno’s offensive barrage in a 9-3 win over Las Vegas Friday night. After a solo shot from Jake Hager gave the Aces a 1-0 lead in the second inning, Canzone unloaded a three-run shot in the third to cap off a four-run frame and extended Reno’s lead to 5-0. The offensive raid continued for Reno’s starting nine with a pair of runs in the fifth and eighth frames to cement the 9-3 victory. Tyler Holton earned his fifth win of the season with 2.2 innings of one-run ball on one hit, allowed no walks and did not register a strikeout.

Brandon Pfaadt’s 10-strikeout performance combined with Canzone’s homer and three-RBI effort was the winning formula for the Aces in a 10-3 rout of the Aviators Saturday night. Pfaadft earned his fifth Triple-A win with 5.2 innings of two-run ball, allowed five hits, one walk and punched out 10 batters. Canzone unloaded his fourth homer of the series with a two-run shot in the first inning for a 2-0 lead. The Cleveland, Ohio native was not finished and added an RBI single to his stat sheet in the fifth inning to push Reno’s lead to 4-1. The Aces continued their offensive onslaught by outscoring Las Vegas 6-2 in the remaining four innings for a 10-3 victory.

In the series finale Sunday afternoon, a six-run second inning was the driving force behind Reno’s 11-3 rout of Las Vegas. After Buddy Kennedy’s first inning solo homer gave the Aces an early 1-0 lead, Reno’s bats continued to bop with a six-run second inning capped off by a three-run shot from Blaze Alexander for a 7-0 Aces advantage. Drew Stankiewicz cemented Reno’s 11-3 victory in the sixth with a solo dinger, his first as an Ace. The Arizona State product stayed hot at the plate with a 3-for-4 performance including a homer, three RBI and two runs scored. Miguel Aguilar earned his third win with a scoreless inning in relief, allowed one hit, no walks and struck out a batter.

ACES HIGH

Dominic Canzone: Hit .400 (8-for-20) in five games with four homers, nine RBI and seven runs scored against Las Vegas. The outfielder has bashed four homers, driven in 14 runs, and sports a .333 batting average in 16 games played this month.

Jake Hager: Started in four games against the Aviators and hit .474 (9-for-19) with a homer, six RBI and three runs scored.

Blaze Alexander: Batted .300 (6-for-20) in five games with a pair of homers, four RBI and seven runs scored.

Jancarlos Cintron: Hit .333 (6-for-18) in four games, drove in three runs and added four runs scored. On the road this season, Cintron is hitting .323 with three homers and 21 RBI in 34 games.

Brandon Pfaadt: (W, 5-1), 5.2 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 10 K’s in 09/24 start.

Paul Fry: (W, 1-0), 2.2 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K’s in two relief appearances.