RENO, Nev. - The Reno Aces battled back throughout the night, but a six-run ninth inning by the Las Vegas Aviators proved too much to overcome in an 11-5 loss Saturday night at Greater Nevada Field.
Las Vegas jumped ahead early with two runs in each of the first two innings against Reno starter Kohl Drake. Joey Meneses delivered a two-run double in the second to extend the Aviators’ lead to 4-0 before the Aces chipped away offensively. Tyler Locklear drove in Tommy Troy with an RBI single in the third, and Aramis Garcia followed with an RBI knock in the fourth after Luis Urías doubled to pull Reno within 4-3.
The Aviators regained momentum in the seventh when Brett Harris launched a solo homer off Taylor Rashi, but Jacob Amaya answered in the eighth with a solo shot of his own to right-center field, trimming the deficit to 5-5.
Las Vegas broke the game open in the ninth inning against Kade Strowd and Gerardo Carrillo. Tommy White crushed a two-run homer to right, while Joshua Kuroda-Grauer capped the rally with a two-run single as the Aviators plated six runs in the frame.
Urías finished 2-for-4 with a double and RBI for Reno, while Troy, Groover, Locklear, Garcia and Amaya each added a hit. Groover’s 1-for-2, two walk effort extends his reached base streak to 36 consecutive games, the fifth longest in Aces franchise history.
The Aces will look to split the series on Sunday afternoon. The series finale will be a 1:05 p.m. start at Greater Nevada Field.