RENO, Nev. – The offensive force was strong on Star Wars Night at Greater Nevada Field as the Reno Aces exploded for 13 runs, the majority of which scored on RBI singles, leading Reno to drop the Tacoma Rainiers by a 13-11 final on Saturday.
The two teams combined to score in eight of the first nine half innings, as the Rainiers (11-15/44-57) produced runs in the first through fifth innings while the Aces (15-11/47-54) dropped multi-run frames from the second through the fourth. Just one night after launching five dingers and scoring all their runs via the home runs, the pendulum swung back the other way as Reno produced 12 of 13 runs on RBI singles.
Striking first was Kristian Robinson, as his RBI knock through the left side snapped an 0-for-17 streak with runners in scoring position for the Aces. Upon Robinson swiping second base, Anderdson Rojas followed suit on a ball into center. Both knocks scored a pair, resulting in four runs in the frame.
Reno almost doubled their production in the third as they used three singles and five walks to cross the plate six times. All three hits came from the trio of Jose Fernandez, Robinson and Manuel Pena, with both Robinson and Pena driving in two on their hits. Earning the fourth RBI of the frame was Demetrio Crisantes, doing so without lifting the bat as he worked a bases loaded walk as he drew the fifth and final walk of the inning.
Each of the first four runs for the Rainiers crossed the plate courtesy a homer, though that streak stopped in the away half of the fourth when Tacoma also added another two on a ground out and Ryan Bliss single.
During the fifth the Aces added their final three runs, with Robinson yet again leading the charge thanks to his third RBI single of the night. That gave the Bahamian native a total of five RBI on the night, and he has recorded two of the three five-RBI games by an Ace this season.
Tonight’s effort made Robinson the fifth player in Aces history to record a five RBI from the No. 9 spot in the batting order, the first to do so since Bryson Brigman on Aug. 25, 2024.
Tacoma continued to slug away in effort to catch the Aces, hitting their fifth and final homer of the night during the top of the fifth. Things started to get interesting as two Tacoma tallies in the top of the seventh brought them within two for the first time since the top of the third.
However, the duo of Isaiah Campbell (W, 5-1) and Philip Abner (S, 1) slammed the door shut on the Rainiers. Campbell entered and tossed 1.1 innings while allowing a single unearned run, striking out two along the way.
Meanwhile, Abner converted his first save of the season by yielding only one hit with one punchout by recording the game’s final four outs.
Reno had just two extra-base hits in the contest, a double each from the duo of Groover and Pavin Smith. Groover and Smith both finished with two hits, though Smith scored three times while Groover crossed the plate only twice.
Four different Aces had multi-hit games led by Robinson’s three knocks, while Cristantes got the closest to Robinson’s five RBI with three of his own in a 1-for-4 effort.
Tonight’s win was the second in a row for the Aces and secures them at minimum a series split, but Reno will look for the set win against Tacoma when the two teams meet for the finale on Sunday at 6:35 p.m. PT.