Errors In Ninth Hurt Sugar Land In Loss To Aviators

Six combined errors, including three in the ninth inning, undercut an impressive offensive output from the Sugar Land Space Cowboys (40-58, 7-16) in a 12-11 defeat to the Las Vegas Aviators (49-48, 15-8) on Wednesday night at Las Vegas Ballpark.

The Space Cowboys got out to an early lead in the first when Rylan Bannon singled, Jon Singleton doubled and Shay Whitcomb drove in Bannon with an RBI groundout. A single from Justin Dirden pushed the Sugar Land lead to 2-0, and in the second, Luke Berryhill singled with one out and stole second before scoring on a double off the center field wall by Marty Costes, pushing the Space Cowboys to a 3-0 advantage.

Las Vegas scored a run in the bottom of the second on a solo home run by Jonah Bride, however Pedro León and JJ Matijevic each hit solo home runs in the top of the third, widening the Space Cowboys edge to 5-1. The Aviators would rattle off five unanswered runs, striking for one in the third and four in the bottom of the fourth on two singles, a double, a triple and an error, and a home run, moving ahead 6-5.

Sugar Land’s offense reclaimed the lead in the top of the fifth. Berryhill worked his second walk of the night and Costes and Bannon each singled to load up the bases. Singleton earned a walk to drive in the tying run, and a two-RBI single from Whitcomb placed the Space Cowboys up 8-6. Unfortunately for Sugar Land, the Aviators replied with three runs of their own in the bottom of the frame, walking four times and scoring three runs on a fielder’s choice and a two-RBI double to go in front 9-8.

Costes and Bannon helped lead the charge back again in the top of the sixth. Dirden, Joe Perez and Berryhill walked to load up the bases with one out, and Costes ripped an opposite-field single to right, plating two runners to move the Space Cowboys back to a 10-9 lead. Bannon then singled to left, giving the Space Cowboys an insurance run at 11-9.

LHP Matt Gage tossed 1.1 innings of hitless, scoreless relief between the fifth and sixth inning, stranding two inherited base runners in the fifth. RHP Joel Kuhnel spun a 1-2-3 seventh and allowed an unearned run in the eight on a single, stole base and throwing error, followed by a sacrifice fly, pulling Las Vegas within a run at 11-10.

In the ninth, RHP Spencer Patton (W, 3-1) struck out two as part of a scoreless inning for Las Vegas. RHP Enoli Paredes (L, 2-3) came on in the bottom of the ninth for Sugar Land and struck out the first batter he faced. Paredes then got two fly balls around the infield, one of which was dropped in foul territory for an error and the other that was popped up to second base, but a missed catch let the tying run reach base for Las Vegas. Paredes walked the next two hitters and the tying run scored on a sacrifice fly. The contest appeared to be headed for extra innings on a ground ball to first with two outs, but a fielding error allowed the winning run to score for the Aviators.

Sugar Land continues their six-game series against Las Vegas on Thursday night. RHP Ronel Blanco is scheduled to start for the Space Cowboys opposite Las Vegas RHP Adrian Martinez for a 9:05 pm CT first pitch. The game can be heard on ESPN 92.5 FM or online here and seen on MiLB.TV.

*ABOUT THE SUGAR LAND SPACE COWBOYS: *

The Sugar Land Space Cowboys are the Triple-A affiliate of the Houston Astros and compete in the Pacific Coast League. They began play as the Astros Triple-A affiliate in 2021 and began playing under the Space Cowboys brand in 2022. The Space Cowboys play at Constellation Field, located at the corner of Hwy-6 and US-90 Alternate in Sugar Land, Texas. Follow the team on Twitter (@SLSpaceCowboys), Instagram (@slspacecowboys), Facebook (SLSpaceCowboys) and their official website (slspacecowboys.com). Fans can purchase full-season and partial-season plans, as well as single-game tickets, by visiting slspacecowboys.com/tickets.