Space Cowboys Start Hot But Surrender Double-Digit Fifth In Finale

For a second consecutive game, the Sugar Land Space Cowboys (24-33) gave up a double-digit inning to the Round Rock Express (32-25), falling 20-9 on Sunday night at Dell Diamond.

Bligh Madris walked to begin the game and Korey Lee followed with a single. Joe Perez drove in the first run of the game with an RBI single to center, extending his on-base streak to 12 games, and following a walk to David Hensley, JJ Matijevic plated two more runners, pushing Sugar Land to a 3-0 lead. A fielder’s choice by Alex McKenna brought in another run, giving the Space Cowboys a 4-0 lead before the Express came to hit.

The Express were able to score three runs in the bottom of the first on a throwing error, three walks, a sacrifice fly and just one hit. All three runs were unearned against the ledger of RHP Bryan Garcia, who didn’t allow a run over the next two frames, giving up just the one hit.

Sugar Land struck for another run in the top of the second inning another RBI knock from Matijevic. The Space Cowboys extended their lead to 6-3 in the top of the fourth when Lee doubled, Justin Dirden singled and Perez hit into a double play.

RHP Cesar Gomez (L, 2-2) entered in the fourth and tossed a scoreless inning. The righty returned for the bottom of the fifth and recorded the first two outs on groundouts. Round Rock then scored two runs on a walk, a triple and a single, pulling within a run at 6-5. RHP Matt Ruppenthal (BS, 2) replaced Gomez and walked Rafael Ortega to load the bases. Dio Arias then hit a bouncing ball to third that looked like it would end the frame, but a throwing error allowed the run to score and extended the inning, leading to 10 total Round Rock runs, just two of them earned.

Round Rock tacked on two runs in the sixth and three more in the seventh. A throwing error allowed Jackson Loftin to score in the top of the eighth for Sugar Land, and in the ninth, back-to-back doubles by Hensley and Matijevic drove in another before a Loftin single plated Matijevic. All told, Matijevic went 4-for-5 with four RBI and a run scored.

Following an off day on Monday, the Space Cowboys begin a six-game series in Albuquerque against the Isotopes on Tuesday night. LHP Nick Allgeyer (1-1, 6.11) is set to start for Sugar Land opposite Isotopes RHP Noah Davis (0-0, 3.24) for a 7:35 pm CT first pitch at Isotopes 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.