Off The Mat – Space Cowboys Rally For Five-Run Ninth To Take Down El Paso
In a game that looked like it was over on a strikeout with two outs in the ninth, the Sugar Land Space Cowboys (59-34, 10-8) stayed alive and rallied back against the El Paso Chihuahuas (40-54, 9-10) with a 7-5 win on Friday night at Southwest University Park. Trailing 4-2
In a game that looked like it was over on a strikeout with two outs in the ninth, the Sugar Land Space Cowboys (59-34, 10-8) stayed alive and rallied back against the El Paso Chihuahuas (40-54, 9-10) with a 7-5 win on Friday night at Southwest University Park.
Trailing 4-2 going to the ninth, Sugar Land faced RHP Tommy Nance (L, 2-2) for El Paso, who punched out Pedro Léon, but gave up a single to Quincy Hamilton and a walk to Chris Gittens, bringing the go-ahead run to the plate. Batting with two outs, Luke Berryhillwent through the zone on a check swing for strike three on a ball in the dirt, but Chihuahuas first baseman Nate Mondu failed to cover first or make the catch, allowing Berryhill to reach and juice the bases. Jacob Amaya worked a five-pitch walk to force in a run and bring the Space Cowboys within one. In an improbable turn of events, Jesús Bastidas smacked a bases-clearing double to put Sugar Land on top. Whitcomb sent home Bastidas with an RBI single, capping off the comeback with a five-run inning.
YOU GUYS WILL NEVER BELIEVE WHAT JUST HAPPENED. 😱#SetTheCourse pic.twitter.com/bzg861cmeh
— Sugar Land Space Cowboys (@SLSpaceCowboys) July 20, 2024
In the bottom of the ninth, with RHP AJ Blubaugh (W, 7-2) back on the mound, Eguy Rosario sent a cutter to left field, taking a funny hop off the wall that was nearly an inside-the-park home run, but the Space Cowboys defense kept it at a triple. Matthew Batten drove in Rosario to cut the Space Cowboys lead to 7-5, but RHP Dylan Coleman (S, 1) came in relief and got the final three outs to close out a shocking win for Sugar Land.
In the top of the first, Shay Whitcomb drew a one-out walk from RHP Gabe Mosser to bring Will Wagner to the plate. Wagner lined the second pitch Mosser threw into the gap in left center, allowing Whitcomb to race from first to home and score the first run of the night. It was not long before the Chihuahuas evened it up on a lead-off home run from Brett Sullivan in the bottom of the first to make it 1-1.
Wagner slammed his fifth home run of the season on a slider from Mosser in the fourth to put the Space Cowboys ahead at 2-1. Sugar Land held the lead until the sixth frame, when León misplayed a ball that dropped in front of him, turning into a three-bagger for Rosario with no outs. Matthew Batten knotted things back up with a single off RHP Ryan Gusto. After inducing a fly out, Gusto’s night ended after 5.1 innings, allowing just two earned runs on four hits, striking out four while walking one.
WILL WAGNER SOLO JACK FOR YOUR TIMELINE pic.twitter.com/RWS5lJFGLJ
— Sugar Land Space Cowboys (@SLSpaceCowboys) July 20, 2024
LHP Parker Mushinski took over in the sixth with one out and a runner on second. Mushinski hit Graham Pauley on the back and walked José Azocar in a seven-pitch at bat to load up the bases for the Chihuahuas but got Mondou and Cal Mitchell swinging to escape the jam, keeping the score tied.
Blubaugh came in for the seventh and faced the minimum after a groundout, a walk and a double play. The righty came back out for the eighth and surrendered a go-ahead home run to Tirso Ornelas to give the Chihuahuas their first lead of the game. Back-to-back-to-back singles put up an insurance run for El Paso, making it 4-2 after eight.
The Space Cowboys are back in action on Saturday night against the Chihuahuas. Sugar Land’s LHP Colton Gordon (4-0, 4.25) will take the mound against El Paso’s RHP Adam Mazur (1-2, 7.11) 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.