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Sugar Land Earns First Six-Game Sweep in Franchise History In 8-4 Win

Homers from Hamilton and Whitcomb Give Space Cowboys 19-Straight Games with a Four-Bagger.
June 9, 2024

In a battle that included four lead changes and three ties, the Sugar Land Space Cowboys (41-22) powered over the Salt Lake Bees (25-37) in the last third of the contest, 8-4, to complete the six-game sweep at Smith’s Ballpark on Sunday afternoon. LHP Colton Gordon gave up the first

In a battle that included four lead changes and three ties, the Sugar Land Space Cowboys (41-22) powered over the Salt Lake Bees (25-37) in the last third of the contest, 8-4, to complete the six-game sweep at Smith’s Ballpark on Sunday afternoon.

LHP Colton Gordon gave up the first run in the finale, allowing a solo home run to Jordyn Adams on the second pitch the southpaw threw. Gordon got the next two batters swinging before letting up a single and a walk for the Bees to threaten for more, but Elliot Soto flew out to right to limit the damage to one.

The Space Cowboys could not get anything across the plate the first two innings but got things going in the third by loading the bases with two outs on a single and two hit-by-pitches. Shay Whitcomb drove in two on a liner to center to give Sugar Land the lead. Kyran Paris tied it right back up in the bottom of the third with a solo home run, but Quincy Hamilton countered with one of his own, the 19th consecutive game the Space Cowboys have hit a long ball, to catapult Sugar Land over Salt Lake once again at 3-2.

The back-and-forth scoring did not end there as an RBI single from Chad Wallach knotted it up again at 3-3 in the bottom of the fourth. Gordon’s day ended after that, and RHP Logan VanWey came on and secured the final two outs of the frame. In the top of the fifth, Grae Kessinger started off the inning by reaching on an error and Cooper Hummel singled him to third. A batter’s interference prevented a run from scoring, but a sacrifice fly from Whitcomb sent Kessinger home, giving Sugar Land the 4-3 advantage.

With VanWey back out for the fifth inning, the Bees used two bunt singles and a knock barely out of the infield to load up the bases with no outs. Despite surrendering a walk to bring the tying run home, VanWey struck out Drew Ellis, Soto, and Jack López to escape the jam and keep it even at four. RHP Conner Greene (W, 5-1) spun a perfect sixth and LHP Bryan King (H, 10) hurled two perfect frames, striking out two in the eighth as part of a stellar relief effort for Sugar Land.

An RBI double from Hummel and a Pedro León single off RHP Travis MacGregor (L, 0-4) broke the draw for good in the seventh, and Whitcomb rocked a two-run opposite field homer in the ninth, ending a five-RBI day for the infielder. RHP Dylan Coleman worked around runners on the corners and induced a game-ending double play to put the final nail in the coffin for Salt Lake to secure the 8-4 win and earn a six-game sweep for the first time in franchise history.

Sugar Land returns to Constellation Field to begin a six-game set against the Oklahoma City Baseball Club on Tuesday night. LHP Eric Lauer (1-0, 7.20) will take the ball for the Space Cowboys for a 7:05 pm CT first pitch. Oklahoma City’s starter is TBA. 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.