Lockdown Pitching Helps Sugar Land Walk It off in Series Finale

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PCL Sugar Land Space Cowboys

Lockdown Pitching Helps Sugar Land Walk It off in Series Finale

August 11, 2024 - Pacific Coast League (PCL)
Sugar Land Space Cowboys News Release


SUGAR LAND, TX - It was a night of great pitching at Constellation Field as the Sugar Land Space Cowboys (73-40, 24-14) found the only run in 11 innings to beat the El Paso Chihuahuas (46-68, 15-24) on Sunday night, 1-0. .

It was a true pitcher's duel between Sugar Land's RHP Rhett Kouba and El Paso's LHP Omar Cruz. Cruz allowed just two Space Cowboy batters to reach base in the form of a pair of singles in his 6.0 innings of work. Kouba walked five batters throughout his five innings but allowed just one hit without allowing a run and to passed it off to LHP Parker Mushinski in the sixth. Mushinski and RHP Rafael Montero each surrendered a single in their inning but kept the game scoreless, while RHP Nick Hernandez continued his scoreless streak since the All-Star Break, pitching a perfect seventh with two strikeouts. RHP Forrest Whitley took over in the ninth and spun a one-hit frame.

The Space Cowboys made things interesting in the bottom of the ninth when Omar Narváez knocked a ground-rule double and Dixon Machado drew a walk to put two on with one out. Jesús Bastidas slammed a changeup from RHP Logan Gillaspie 386 feet to the deepest part of the park, but centerfielder Brandon Lockridge parked under the ball to catch it for an out. Gillaspie got the final out of the ninth to send the game to extras for the second-straight night.

Both teams stranded their automatic runners in the tenth, taking the game to the eleventh for just the second time for the Space Cowboys this season. RHP Luis Contreras (W, 2-1) pitched a three-up-three-down including a couple of strikeouts to give Sugar Land another shot at walking it off. With Quincy Hamilton starting the inning on second base, Machado dropped down a sacrifice bunt to move Hamilton to third. The next batter, Narváez, battled back from an 0-2 count and on the ninth pitch of the at bat, sent a sinker from RHP Francis Pena (L, 0-1) just over the head of the second baseman, who was playing in, to send the winning run home. It is the fourth shutout that the Space Cowboys pitching staff has hurled, along with their eighth walk-off win of the season.

The Space Cowboys will to Tacoma to take on the Rainiers on Tuesday afternoon. Sugar Land's LHP Colton Gordon (5-1, 4.94) will take the mound for a 2:05 pm CT first pitch, while Tacoma'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.

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