Ninth-Inning Rally Helps Space Cowboys Pick Up Second Straight Win Over Aviators

A squeeze bunt in the ninth inning plated the winning run for the Sugar Land Space Cowboys (42-58, 9-16) in a thrilling 6-5 victory over the Las Vegas Aviators (49-50, 15-10) on Friday night at Las Vegas Ballpark.

With the game tied at 5-5 in the ninth, Rylan Bannon reached on a throwing error by Logan Davidson, advancing to second when the ball rolled into the dugout. Shay Whitcomb then singled to right with one out, moving Bannon to third while chasing LHP Kirby Snead (L, 1-3). Pedro León dropped down a bunt up the first base line in the ensuing at bat and RHP Spencer Patton’s throw home was high, allowing Bannon to score the go-ahead run. A catcher’s interference loaded the bases, but a double play prevented Sugar Land from scoring an extra run.

RHP Joel Kuhnel (S, 1) was summoned for the bottom of the ninth and saw Conner Capel sneak a triple inside the right-field line to begin the inning. Jonah Bride weakly lined out for the first out, and Whitcomb came home to cut down Capel for the second out on a grounder from pinch hitter Yohel Pozo. Kuhnel induced a flyout to right by Brett Harris, closing out the win for Sugar Land.

The Space Cowboys struck for a pair of runs in the first inning. Bannon and Jon Singleton worked back-to-back walks against RHP Zack Godley and advanced into scoring position on a groundout by Whitcomb. León brought in the first run with a sacrifice fly, and a throwing error granted two free bases to Singleton, putting Sugar Land up 2-0.

In the home half of the first, Esteury Ruiz tripled off RHP Spencer Arrighetti and scored on a wild pitch, but Arrighetti retired the next three hitters in a row to maintain a 2-1 Sugar Land lead.

Sugar Land picked up their first hit of the night in the top of the fifth, a lead-off single by Joe Perez. Luke Berryhill worked a walk and the runner moved up 90 feet on a wild pitch by Godley. Singleton then hit a bouncer to first that Davidson fielded and threw home, but the ball ricocheted out of Manny Piña’s glove, allowing both Perez and Berryhill to score, pushing the Space Cowboys to a 4-1 lead.

Bligh Madris led off the top of the sixth with a double and JJ Matijevic brought Madris in with a hustle double, giving Sugar Land a 5-1 lead and ending the night for Godley.

After giving up a single in the second, Arrighetti retired 12 straight hitters, including striking out the side in the fourth and fifth, K’ing six consecutive batters and seven out of eight. The righty came out for the sixth but gave up and infield single and a walk, bringing his outing to a close. RHP Shawn Dubin (W, 1-2) entered and hit the first batter he faced but got a lineout for the first out in the frame. A throwing error, a double and a groundout plated four runs for the Aviators, tying the game at 5-5. Dubin responded by sitting down the final seven hitters he faced, hurling a scoreless seventh and eighth to set the Space Cowboys up for the victory.

With the series even at 2-2, Sugar Land continues their six-game set with Las Vegas on Saturday night. RHP Jairo Solis is slated to toe the slab against Las Vegas RHP Zack Neal for a 9:05 pm CT first pitch at Las Vegas Ballpark. 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.