Sugar Land Splits Doubleheader With Express

The Sugar Land Space Cowboys (24-29) split a doubleheader against the Round Rock Express (28-25) on Wednesday night, dropping Game One 7-6 before winning Game Two 6-4 at Dell Diamond.

Game 1

Sugar Land put up a crooked number on the board in the top of the first. Bligh Madris singled to start the game and Grae Kessinger followed with a two-run blast to left, his fifth of the year, to make it 2-0 Space Cowboys. David Hensley then doubled, and a JJ Matijevic two-bagger drove in Hensley to push the lead to 3-0. A double by Justin Dirden capped the scoring, vaulting the Space Cowboys to a 4-0 advantage before the Express came to bat.

Round Rock plated a pair of runs in the bottom of the second but an RBI single from Dirden once again gave Sugar Land a three-run advantage in the top of the third. Madris led off the fourth by walking and advanced to third on a Kessinger single before scoring on a Matijevic base hit, widening the Space Cowboys margin to 6-2.

In the bottom of the fourth, Mitch Garver walked and Rafael Ortega singled against LHP Austin Davis. Elier Hernandez collected his third hit, a two-RBI single that pulled the Express back to a two-run deficit at 6-4. Hernandez doubled in two more runs in the bottom of the sixth, leveling the contest at 6-6 heading to the final scheduled frame in game one of the doubleheader.

LHP Taylor Hearn (W, 1-1) struck out the side for Round Rock in the top of the seventh. RHP Enoli Paredes (L, 1-2) entered in the bottom of the seventh and walked the lead-off batter before surrendering a walk-off double to Jordan Procyshen, giving Round Rock a 7-6 walk-off victory.

Game 2

Playing as the designated home team for Game two of the doubleheader, Sugar Land fell behind in the top of the second inning on a solo home run by Sandro Fabian.

After the first seven Space Cowboys hitters struck out, Dirden singled with one out and advanced to second when Alex McKenna reached on a fielding error at first base. Madris walked to load the bases and Kessinger delivered the tying run with a sacrifice fly.

Another Fabian home run gave Round Rock a 2-1 lead in the top of the fourth. As they did on Tuesday night, though, Sugar Land worked patient at bats to tie the game and ultimately take the lead. Facing LHP Lucas Jacobson (L, 3-1), Korey Lee and Hensley both walked and moved up 90 feet on a groundout in front of home by Pedro León. A free pass to Matijevic loaded up the bases and Joe Perez was plunked to force in the tying run. Dirden then dropped a single into left that plated an insurance run, putting Sugar Land up 4-2.

LHP Nick Allgeyer (W, 1-1) returned for the top of the fifth and encountered a bases-loaded jam because of a hit, an error and a walk but induced a pop out from Davis Wendzel to maintain a two-run lead for the Space Cowboys. León helped his starter by launching a two-run homer to center in the bottom of the fifth, his sixth of the season, to make it 6-2 in favor of Sugar Land.

A two-run homer by Disobel Arias in the top of the sixth brought Round Rock back within two, but LHP Blake Taylor navigated the rest of the frame to keep Sugar Land ahead. RHP Joe Record (S, 6) entered for a second consecutive night to lock down the save, pitching a perfect seventh inning.

The Space Cowboys continue their seven-game series against the Express on Thursday night. RHP Ronel Blanco (2-0, 0.56) is set to take the ball for Sugar Land while the Express are scheduled to counter with RHP Cole Winn (1-4, 9.17) for a 7:05 pm first pitch at Dell Diamond. 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.