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PCL1 Las Vegas Aviators

Aviators Rally for Stunning 11-10, Walk-Off Victory over River Cats

June 21, 2019 - Pacific Coast League (PCL1)
Las Vegas Aviators News Release


Aviators fans have been treated to some thrilling, high-scoring games during the inaugural season at Las Vegas Ballpark. But nothing comes close to matching the excitement Thursday's sellout crowd witnessed.

Trailing the Sacramento River Cats 10-1 after 4 1/2 innings, Las Vegas mounted their biggest rally of the season, scoring the game's final 10 runs - including two in the bottom of the ninth - to steal an 11-10 victory, the team's fifth in a row. Fittingly, Corban Joseph - the Aviators' leading hitter who ranks second in the entire Pacific Coast League in batting average - delivered the walk-off hit, a one-out bloop single off River Cats closer Fernando Abad.

"It was a little sinker in," Joseph said of the 1-0 pitch he fisted into center field. "I just tried to stay through it, stay up the middle, and I was fortunate enough to put a good swing on it. Abad's got great stuff, so I just tried to eliminate a couple of pitches, look for something in the zone, and I was lucky enough to get a pitch to hit back up the middle."

Long before Joseph's heroics, this seemed to be a lost game for the Aviators (41-32), who watched Sacramento build a 6-0 lead with three runs in each of the first two innings. That lead would grow to 10-1 after the River Cats (36-36) tacked on four runs in the fifth.

But that's when Las Vegas began chipping away, scoring a run in the fifth, three in the sixth and four in the seventh to trim the deficit to 10-9 entering the bottom of the ninth. Despite the huge momentum swing, the odds still seemed to be in favor of the River Cats because they had Abad, who entered the game with a 1.85 ERA and eight saves in nine chances.

Sure enough, Abad (0-2) promptly retired Las Vegas' Nick Martini on a groundout to start the inning. But it would turn out to be the last out the southpaw would record.

Franklin Barreto followed Martini with a sharp base hit that skipped past Sacramento second baseman Levi Mitchell. What looked like a routine single turned into a double after Barreto hustled out of the batter's box and never slowed down after rounding first base. Catcher Jonah Heim, who entered the game in the top of the eighth inning as a defensive replacement, followed with a first-pitch flare single over shortstop that moved Barreto to third base.

After Mark Payton came in to pinch-run for Heim, Skye Bolt dropped a single in front of right fielder Henry Ramos that plated Barreto with the tying run, with Payton racing around to third. That set the stage for Joseph, who needed just two pitches to bring Payton home and set off a celebration that extended to what remained of a boisterous crowd of 10,089.

Making the stunning victory all the more enjoyable was the fact that virtually everybody who got into the game contributed to the comeback. Offensively, nine of the 10 players who got an at-bat had at least one hit, and 10 different players scored. Also, not only did Jorge Mateo (2-for-5), Sheldon Neuse (3-for-4), Eric Campbell (2-for-4, four RBI) and Bolt (3-for-5, four RBI) have multiple hits, but all four hit home runs.

Meanwhile, as the offense was furiously circling the bases, relief pitchers Ben Bracewell and Trey McNutt were silencing the River Cats' bats. After a rare poor outing by starter Paul Blackburn, who gave up 10 runs (nine earned) in 4 1/3 innings, Bracewell and McNutt (1-0) were virtually flawless, combining to allow just two baserunners (a single and a walk) while striking out six over 4 2/3 scoreless innings.

"There were a couple of unsung heroes in that game," Aviators manager Fran Riordan said. "You look at the job Bracewell and McNutt did, getting us 4 2/3 innings of scoreless ball to not let the game get out of hand - that was huge, obviously. And then just the persistence and resiliency we showed putting up 10 runs in the last five innings. And it was everybody - the whole lineup coming up with clutch hits or getting on base with a walk, getting big two-out hits and two-strike hits, driving in runs. And then Corban just had a great at-bat to drive in the game-winner. So it was just a huge team win for us."

Despite digging themselves such a deep hole, Riordan said he never felt the game was a lost cause, for two reasons: His players aren't the type to ever give up, and Las Vegas Ballpark is a hitter-friendly venue where runs can come in bunches.

"The guys know this is a place where we can bang our way back into games, and that's exactly what we did," he said. "There was no panic, there were no heads down in the dugout. Guys just did what they had to do, just kept grinding out at-bats and getting on base, and the next guy just kind of kept the train rolling. And by the end of the game, we ended up on top."

After such a dramatic victory - one that kept a winning streak going - it's tempting to wonder if the Aviators might be in the midst of one of those special seasons. While Riordan wasn't interested in looking too far ahead - "We still have a lot of season left," he said - Joseph acknowledged that he and his teammates expect to be playing meaningful games deep into summer.

"Hopefully, we'll be competing for a championship," he said. "We've got a great group of guys who can match up with any other lineup, and we show up every day to win games. It's a very special group."

GAME NOTES: After going 4-for-4 in Tuesday's 12-1 victory in Memphis, Neuse reached base in each of his first four at-bats Thursday on two singles, a walk and a solo homer. Although he struck out in his final at-bat, he's still on an incredible 20-for-29 tear over the past seven games ... Mateo extended his hitting streak to seven games and has now hit safely in 59 of his 68 games this season, including 20 of 22 since May 27. ... With two singles, Joseph raised his average to .366. The only player in the PCL with a better average is Albuquerque's Yonathan Diaz (.375). ... Las Vegas is now 10-2 this season against Sacramento, outscoring the River Cats 79-47 in those 12 games. ... Through the first two innings, Sacramento had eight hits (including five doubles) from eight different players. The only River Cat who didn't have a hit was first baseman Aramis Garcia, but he made up for it with a three-run home run in the fifth that gave Sacramento its 10-1 lead. ... Thursday's sellout was the 26th in 36 games at Las Vegas Ballpark.

ON DECK: The Aviators and River Cats continue their five-game series Friday at 7:05 p.m. Right-hander Parker Dunshee (2-4, 5.20 ERA) will take the mound for Las Vegas and oppose fellow righty Conner Menez (0-0, 4.09), who will be making his third start for Sacramento. Following the game, fans will be treated to a fireworks show, presented by City National Bank.

Catch every Aviators game throughout the season on NBC Sports Radio 920-AM, and follow us on Twitter @AviatorsLV.

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