Las Vegas Aviators — 13
Oklahoma City Comets — 11
PCL Championship Series – Game 1
Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2026 – Las Vegas Ballpark – Las Vegas, Nev.
Game Summary: The Oklahoma City Comets scored six straight runs over the final two innings, but their comeback fell short in a 13-11 loss to the Las Vegas Aviators in Game 1 of the Pacific Coast League Championship Series Tuesday night at Las Vegas Ballpark. Las Vegas opened the series with a fast lead, scoring two runs in the first inning on a RBI double from Darell Hernaiz followed by a Johnathan Rodríguez sacrifice fly. The Aviators added three more runs in the third inning with singles from Bryan Lavastida and Luke Mann to take a 5-0 lead. Oklahoma City got on the board in the fourth inning with a leadoff blast from James Tibbs III before the Aviators got the run back in the bottom of the inning on a fielder’s choice. Oklahoma City put together a four-run fifth inning, scoring on a double from Ben Rortvedt followed by singles from Zach Ehrhard and Ryan Fitzgerald to make it a one-run game. Las Vegas doubled its run total with six runs in the sixth inning in a rally which featured three bases-loaded walks and singles from Rodríguez and Lavastida for a 12-5 advantage. After the Aviators scored an additional run in the seventh inning, Oklahoma City rallied for five runs in the eighth inning on a frame kept alive by a pair of Las Vegas fielding errors to get within three runs. In the ninth inning, Oklahoma City edged closer on a solo shot from Zach Ehrhard.
Of Note:
-The Comets lost the opener of the best-of-three PCL Championship Series and will now need to win each of the next two games against the Aviators to claim the franchise’s first league title since 2023.
-Oklahoma City is now a combined 5-10 in LCS games and is just 1-6 on the road. Including the 2023 Triple-A National Championship Game, Oklahoma City has dropped 14 of the last 15 playoff series openers.
-The Comets and Aviators combined for 24 runs Tuesday for the most combined runs in a playoff game for Oklahoma City during the Bricktown era. The previous high was 21 during a 16-5 win over Iowa in 2008…The 13 runs by the Aviators were the most allowed by Oklahoma City in a postseason game since a 14-run outburst by Omaha during Game 2 of a first-round series in 1999…Oklahoma City scored its most runs in a playoff game since the effort was matched during Game 2 of the 2008 PCL Championship Series at Sacramento.
-James Tibbs III sent his first career postseason hit over the wall for his 31st home run of the season overall. He’s gone deep in each of his last two games and has homered six times across seven total games at Las Vegas Ballpark this season.
-Ben Rortvedt finished 2-for-3 with a double, RBI, two walks and two runs scored. It was the fourth multi-hit game of Rortvedt’s postseason career and first since Oct. 1, 2025 with the Los Angeles Dodgers vs. Cincinnati.
-Zach Ehrhard hit his first career postseason home run to go along with a 2-for-3 night, two RBI, two walks and three runs scored. He’s collected a hit in each of his last 13 games and is 22-for-51 (.431) with eight extra-base hits and nine RBI during the stretch.
-The Comets allowed 12 walks with five coming in the sixth inning and three being with the bases loaded in the same frame. It was the most walks allowed by the Comets since surrendering a season-high 14 July 28 vs. Las Vegas.
Next Up: The best-of-three PCL Championship Series between the Comets and Aviators continues with a must-win Game 2 for the Comets starting at 9:05 p.m. CT Wednesday at Las Vegas Ballpark. Live radio coverage of each Comets game begins 15 minutes before first pitch on AM 1340 "The Game," 1340thegame.com and through the free iHeartRadio or MiLB First Pitch apps.