Space Cowboys Lose Series Finale To Tacoma In Extras

The Sugar Land Space Cowboys (45-63, 12-21) held a two-run lead going to the ninth but the Tacoma Rainiers (56-52, 19-14) sent the game to extras before ultimately topping Sugar Land 7-5 on Sunday night at Constellation Field.

With Sugar Land leading 4-2 in the top of the ninth, Adam Engel hit a one-out home run for Tacoma off RHP Enoli Paredes (H, 2). The right-hander got a ground out for the second out in the frame, but a walk to Sam Haggerty put the tying run on base. Haggery stole second and scored on a two-out double from Ryan Bliss to tie the game. César Salazar drew a one-out walk in the home half of the ninth for the Space Cowboys, however RHP Stephen Kolek (W, 4-2) got a flyout and a lineout to center, sending the contest to extras.

In the tenth, an RBI double, a two-out RBI triple and a wild pitch pushed the Rainiers to a 7-4 lead. Pedro León brought in a run with an RBI single in the bottom of the frame, but back-to-back punchouts from RHP Riley O’Brien (S, 8) secured the win for Tacoma.

The top of the order gave Sugar Land an early lead in the bottom of the first. Rylan Bannon worked a lead-off walk and Jon Singleton moved him to third on a ground-rule double, bringing up Shay Whitcomb. The Space Cowboys’ third baseman bounced a double over the third-base bag, plating two to give Sugar Land a 2-0 lead after one.

RHP Brandon Bielak threw a scoreless first and limited the damage to just a run in the second, keeping a 2-1 Sugar Land lead. A triple and a throwing error brought in the tying run in the third for the Rainiers, but Bielak retired the next three in order and struck out the side in the fourth, giving the righty eight strikeouts across four innings of work, allowing just one earned run.

The Space Cowboys reclaimed the lead in the sixth when Whitcomb laced a single to right and scored on a double off the wall by León, giving Sugar Land a 4-3 edge. Salazar then walked to begin the seventh, moved to second on a passed ball, advanced to third on a ground out and scored on a passed ball, widening the Space Cowboys lead to 4-2.

Following an off day on Monday, the Space Cowboys travel to El Paso to being a six-game series against the Chihuahuas. Neither team has named a starter for a 7:35 pm CT first pitch at Southwest University Park. 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.