Sixth Inning Flips Game As Space Cowboys Drop First Against Round Rock
Despite starting off strong with a run in the first, the Sugar Land Space Cowboys (66-38, 17-12) were unable to spark a comeback against the Round Rock Express (52-51, 15-14), as they dropped Thursday night’s contest 5-2 at Dell Diamond. The Space Cowboys struck first after Jesús Bastidas led off
Despite starting off strong with a run in the first, the Sugar Land Space Cowboys (66-38, 17-12) were unable to spark a comeback against the Round Rock Express (52-51, 15-14), as they dropped Thursday night’s contest 5-2 at Dell Diamond.
The Space Cowboys struck first after Jesús Bastidas led off the opening frame on a two-base error from the second baseman Justin Foscue. A passed ball by catcher Sam Huff allowed Bastidas to race to third, and Shay Whitcomb sent a ball to deep right field that gave Bastidas enough time to score the first run of the game. However, Round Rock tied it up in bottom half of the inning on a double from Blaine Crim to score Foscue from third.
After surrendering the first-inning run, LHP Colton Gordon (L, 5-1) found himself in some more trouble in the second, loading up the bases on a single and a pair of walks with two outs. Dustin Harris worked a full count before Gordon came in with a fastball to strike Harris out looking, keeping the Express at bay while maintaining a 1-1 tie.
In the bottom of the fifth, Foscue led off the inning with a tie-breaking solo homer to left field. Gordon amassed two more outs before RHP Dylan Coleman came in to get the last out of the frame. After allowing a single to Crim, Coleman struck out Andrew Knizner to send the game to the sixth at a 2-1 Round Rock.
Sugar Land loaded up in the bases in the sixth with a pair of singles from Jacob Amaya and Grae Kessinger, along with a walk from Whitcomb, ending LHP Blake Taylor’s (W, 4-1) night and bringing in the newest Express hurler in LHP Walter Pennington (H, 1) with one out. Pennington got a strikeout of Zach Dezenzo and a groundout from Jacob Melton to keep Round Rock’s one-run lead.
Coleman returned for the bottom of the sixth and juiced the bases with one out, and RHP Logan VanWey was summoned from the Sugar Land bullpen. Foscue hit a sac fly to center for the second out, and with runners on second and third, Harris grounded a ball just through the infield to score both and extend Round Rock’s lead to 5-1.
The Space Cowboys were unable to piece together any runs after their first inning sacrifice fly until the ninth, when Dezenzo took the first pitch he saw from RHP Kyle Barraclough and smacked it up the middle for a base hit. Dezenzo advanced to third on a pair of defensive indifferences and Cooper Hummel snuck a groundball past the second baseman to score Sugar Land’s second run of the night and end Barraclough’s 17.0 inning scoreless streak. However, Barraclough recovered to finish the game on a strikeout and a flyout.
The Space Cowboys look to bounce back against the Round Rock Express on Friday night. Both starters are TBA for a 7:15 pm CT first pitch at Dell Diamond. The game can be heard on ESPN 92.5 FM or online here and seen on MiLB.TV, MLB.TV or Bally Live.
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.