Three Home Runs Surge Space Cowboys Past El Paso In 10-8 Victory

Suero’s 14th Save Secures Sugar Land’s Win.

By Amanda Perry/Space Cowboys

June 19, 2024

Powered by a five-run inning, the Sugar Land Space Cowboys (46-24) took the lead in the second and never looked back against the El Paso Chihuahuas (29-41), claiming a 10-8 victory in the series opener at Southwest University Park on Tuesday night. Sugar Land’s magic number to clinch the first

LHP Colton Gordon nearly escaped a jam in the first with runners on the corners and no outs, striking out Brett Sullivan and Eguy Rosario. The lefty was up 1-2 in the count against Nate Mondou, who tapped a curveball in between the pitcher’s mound and first base. Gordon raced over to barehand the ball but just couldn’t make the play, allowing El Paso to take a 1-0 lead early on.

The Space Cowboys loaded up the bases with no outs in the top of the second for Luke Berryhill, who lined a single to right field to move everyone up a base, tying the game at one apiece. El Paso’s RHP Sean Reynolds, who relieved San Diego Padres pitcher RHP Glenn Otto (L, 0-1) after two batters in the second, proceeded to strikeout the next two Space Cowboys before issuing a walk to Shay Whitcomb to give Sugar Land a 2-1 advantage.

In the third inning, Grae Kessinger worked a walk and David Hensley reached on a fielding error to put two on for Jacob Amaya, and the third baseman smacked a three-run shot 356 feet the opposite way to extend the Space Cowboys lead. Sugar Land did not stop there, as a walk from Berryhill and a single from Jesús Bastidas paved way for Whitcomb to come through with a single to right, plating Berryhill to push the lead to 6-1. Will Wagner drove in another on a base hit up the middle, his first hit being reinstated from the injured list, putting the Space Cowboys up 7-1.

BYE BYE BYE! 👋 pic.twitter.com/PY9NSBmm41
— Sugar Land Space Cowboys (@SLSpaceCowboys) June 19, 2024

Four home runs from the Chihuahuas put five on the board over the next three innings, cutting Sugar Land’s lead to 7-6, but RHP Ray Gaither (W, 2-0) worked around a solo home run to retire the next three in order. After LHP Parker Mushinski (H, 4) pitched a scoreless sixth, Wagner cranked a two-out solo home shot in the seventh to give the Space Cowboys some breathing room. In the next frame, Kessinger sent his first homer of the season over the fence in left field, and Quincy Hamilton hit a sacrifice fly to score Henley from third, giving Sugar Land a four-run cushion.

Back and better than ever 🤙 pic.twitter.com/41NuYZDjsd
— Sugar Land Space Cowboys (@SLSpaceCowboys) June 19, 2024

With LHP Bryan King on the mound in the bottom of the eighth, the Chihuahuas scored one on an RBI single from Matthew Batten with two gone, ending King’s impressive scoreless inning streak at 14.1 frames. RHP Wander Suero (S, 14) came in for the ninth and got the first two outs before Óscar Mercado hit a double and Tirso Ornelas brought him home on a single, but Suero recovered and struck out INF Mason McCoy to lock up the victory.

Sugar Land will play their second game against the Chihuahuas on Wednesday. RHP Ryan Gusto will take on El Paso’s LHP Jackson Wolf for a 7:35 pm CT first pitch. 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.