SOUTH JORDAN, Utah – After battling back-and-forth all night, Demetrio Crisantes was the hero on Saturday night with an RBI single in the top of the ninth inning to give Reno a 6-5 victory at Salt Lake.
Once again, the Aces (22-27, 54-70) fell behind in the early going surrendering a pair of runs to Salt Lake (18-31, 57-66) in the bottom of the second inning. However, Reno responded immediately on a Lourdes Gurriel Jr. RBI single in the top of the third.
The Bees punched back with another run in their half of the third, but once again the BLC-Nine had an answer to keep the score close as three straight singles capped off by an RBI knock from Demetrio Crisantes plated Reno’s second run of the night.
The Aces kept the offense going in the fifth with a pair of runs giving them a 4-3 lead, their first lead in the series since the fourth inning of Thursday’s game. LuJames Groover added an insurance run in the top of the seventh with an RBI single, his third hit of the night.
Unfortunately, the lead would not hold as Salt Lake clubbed back-to-back home runs in the bottom of the eighth to tie things up before the tarp was pulled and the game entered a rain delay in the night, tied 5-5.
Following a short rain delay entering the ninth, Adrian Del Castillo and Manuel Pena recorded one-out singles to set the scene for Crisantes’ game-winner before Isaiah Campbell tossed a scoreless frame to close it out.
Arizona’s top prospect went 2-for-5 with two RBI in the victory to lead the Aces’ 14-hit night. Groover and Pena each recorded three hit nights with the former adding in two RBI of his own.
The Aces will look to secure a series split with Salt Lake tomorrow. First pitch from The Ballpark at America First Square at 5:05 p.m. PT.
-ACES-