Matijevic And Singleton Go Deep In Space Cowboys Finale Against Vegas

The Sugar Land Space Cowboys (43-59, 10-17) got out to an early lead but were unable to prevent a comeback from the Las Vegas Aviators (16-11, 50-51) in a 15-6 loss on Sunday night at Las Vegas Ballpark.

The Space Cowboys took advantage of some wildness from LHP Kyle Muller to score a trio of runs in the first. Rylan Bannon walked but was cancelled out on a fielder’s choice. Shay Whitcomb then singled and David Hensley reached on a fielder’s choice, putting men on the corners with two outs. Bligh Madris was hit by a pitch and Justin Dirden worked a walk, forcing in the first run. JJ Matijevic plated two more with his 20^th double of the year, pushing Sugar Land to a 3-0 lead.

In the top of the second, C.J. Stubbs collected his first Triple-A hit, a lead-off single, before Bannon singled and Jon Singleton walked, loading up the bases. Hensley hit a bouncer to third that Kevin Smith was unable to field, bringing in Stubbs to make it 4-0 Space Cowboys. RHP Chase Cohen entered with the bases loaded for Las Vegas and struck out the next two hitters, stranding the three men on for Sugar Land.

RHP Kyle McGowin hurled a 1-2-3 first and second inning and navigated a pair of lead-off base runners to throw a scoreless third. The righty got the first two outs in the fourth inning, but two walks, three singles and a home run leveled the game at 4-4 and ended McGowin’s night. The Aviators would go in front in the bottom of the fifth against RHP Jimmy Endersby (L, 4-5) on three singles and a pair of walks.

Aviators’ pitching kept the Space Cowboys’ bats in check in the middle innings, retiring 13 hitters in a row, including two scoreless innings from RHP Colin Peluse (W, 1-1). Las Vegas scored three more in the bottom of the sixth on a pair of home runs, opening up an 8-4 lead.

Sugar Land used the longball to cut into the Las Vegas lead, starting with a solo home run from Singleton in the seventh, his 11^th with the Space Cowboys. Singleton has now homered in five of his last nine games, hitting six total in that span. Matijevic launched an opposite field homer in the eighth to pull Sugar Land within a pair at 8-6, and a single by Stubbs, his third knock of the night, brought the tying run to the plate, but a strikeout from LHP Easton Lucas (H, 1) ended the Space Cowboys rally. The Aviators put the game out of reach in the bottom of the eighth, scoring seven runs as they sent 12 men to bat in the frame.

Following an off day Monday, the Space Cowboys return to Constellation Field to begin a six-game series with the Tacoma Rainiers on Tuesday night. RHP Spenser Watkins is scheduled to start the opener for Sugar Land while the Rainiers are slated to throw LHP Tommy Milone 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.