Madris Supplies Go-Ahead Single in 2-1 Sugar Land Win

A go-ahead two-RBI single in the bottom of the eighth inning delivered a 2-1 win for the Sugar Land Space Cowboys (6-11) over the Las Vegas Aviators (7-11) on Thursday night at Constellation Field.

Trailing 1-0 heading to the bottom of the eighth inning, RHP Billy Sullivan (L, 1; H,1) came on for the Aviators and issued back-to-back walks to Michael Sandle and Pedro León, putting the tying and winning run on base. Ross Adolph dropped down a sacrifice bunt that moved the runners into scoring position, but Sullivan struck out the next batter for the second out. LHP Garrett Williams (BS,1) came on to face Bligh Madris in a lefty-lefty matchup, and the Space Cowboys’ first baseman smacked a single to right, driving in both runners to push Sugar Land in front 2-1. Madris was caught in a rundown after his single and tagged out but stayed in the run down long enough for both runners to score.

RHP Enoli Paredes (S, 3) came on in the ninth inning for Sugar Land and locked down the save by striking out the side, retiring Cody Thomas, Tyler Soderstrom and Kevin Cron with swinging strikeouts. Paredes threw 14 pitches, 11 strikes, and has not allowed a run through his first five appearances this year.

Sugar Land got an excellent start out of RHP Brandon Bielak, who allowed just a two-out single in the second through his first four frames of work. The righty struck out four in those four innings and retired 12 of the first 13 he faced.

For Las Vegas, RHP Colin Peluse didn’t allow a runner to advance into scoring position in any of the first three innings, issuing a pair of lead-off walks in the second and third but retiring the next three men in order. Sugar Land’s best scoring chance against Peluse came in the bottom of the fourth when Adolph double to right and moved to third on a single by Madris, putting men on the edges with just one out. Peluse responded by striking out the next two hitters to strand two men on base and keep the game scoreless.

Soderstrom broke the tie in the top of the fifth with a solo home run to left to lead off the inning, his fourth of the year, giving Las Vegas a 1-0 lead. Bielak recovered by striking out the next three batters in order, giving him seven strikeouts across five frames.

RHP Jimmy Endserby (W, 1) kept the Space Cowboys within striking distance, throwing three scoreless innings in relief. The righty worked out of a jam in the seventh with runners on the corners and just one out and also stranded runners on first and second in the top of the eighth, setting the stage for the Sugar Land rally.

Sugar Land continues their six-game series against the Aviators on Friday night at Constellation Field. RHP Shawn Dubin (0-0, 2.45) is set to take the hill for the Space Cowboys against Las Vegas LHP Hogan Harris (0-1, 6.23) for a 7:05 pm 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.