Joey Loperfido recorded a season-high six RBI for the Sugar Land Space Cowboys (34-20, 66-62), but Sugar Land dropped game three of their six-game series against the Las Vegas Aviators (30-24, 74-53) 13-8 on Thursday night at Las Vegas Ballpark.
Sugar Land struck first in the top half of the opening inning when Trenton Brooks and Cavan Biggio worked back-to-back walks to put two runners on. Loperfido followed with his first RBI of the game, a single to right field, giving the Space Cowboys an early 1-0 lead.
Las Vegas quickly responded in the bottom of the inning. After a walk put a runner on, Joey Meneses lined an RBI double to left field before Brayan Buelvas hit a two-run home run to give the Aviators a 3-1 advantage.
Luke Mann extended the Las Vegas lead in the bottom of the second when he led off the inning with a solo home run, pushing the Aviators ahead 4-1.
Sugar Land rallied to even the game in the top of the third. Raynel Delgado led off with a walk before Pascanel Ferreras singled to put two runners on. Biggio then worked his second walk of the night to load the bases for Loperfido, who smashed a bases-clearing double to center field to even the game at four a piece.
The Aviators quickly regained the lead in the bottom half of the inning. Meneses hit a solo home run to center field before back-to-back doubles plated another run. Las Vegas then loaded the bases with a fielder’s choice and a walk before Davis Diaz singled home two runs to give the Aviators an 8-4 lead. RHP Trey McLoughlin entered in relief with two runners on and struck out the first batter he faced, but two wild pitches and an RBI single from Jared Dickey brought home two more runs, giving Las Vegas a 10-4 advantage after a six-run inning.
Biggio led off the top of the fifth with a double to left field and advanced to third on a groundout before Zach Dezenzo brought him home with an RBI groundout, cutting the deficit to 10-5.
McLoughlin kept Las Vegas off the board in the middle innings, tossing 2.2 scoreless innings while allowing just one hit, walking one and striking out two.
Sugar Land struck again in the top of the sixth when Delgado doubled to put a runner in scoring position for Ferreras who followed with an RBI single to left field, trimming the deficit to 10-6.
Las Vegas found a rally of their own in the bottom half of the inning, using three RBI singles to plate three runs and extend its lead to 13-6.
RHP Logan VanWey tossed a perfect seventh inning and recorded one strikeout in his 1.1 innings of work. RHP Alex Santos II then allowed a leadoff double in the eighth before inducing two groundouts and striking out the final batter he faced to strand the runner keeping the Aviators off the board.
Sugar Land made one final push in the top of the ninth. Delgado led off with a single and advanced to second on a groundout before Brooks worked his second walk of the night to put two runners on with one out. After Biggio grounded into a force out, defensive indifference moved him to second and put two runners in scoring position with two outs. Loperfido lined a two-run single to center field, bringing his RBI total to six and cutting the deficit to 13-8. However, a popout to former Space Cowboy Jack Winkler ended the game.
NOTABLE:
- Joey Loperfido went 3-for-5 with a double and six RBI on Thursday night. His six-RBI performance marked the most RBI in a single game by a Space Cowboys batter this season and the second-highest RBI total of Loperfido’s career. Loperfido’s career high seven-RBI performance came on April 12, 2024, at Albuquerque.
- RHP Trey McLoughlin tossed a season high 2.2 scoreless innings on Thursday night, allowing just one hit while walking one and striking out two. McLoughlin has not allowed a run in six of his last seven outings, posting a 10.1-inning stretch in which he has allowed six hits, two runs and five walks while striking out 10.
- RHP Logan VanWey threw 1.1 scoreless innings on Thursday night, allowing just one hit while striking out one. Thursday marked VanWey’s 45th appearance of the season, moving him into a tie for the sixth-most appearances in the Pacific Coast League.
- Raynel Delgado went 2-for-4 with a double, a walk and two runs scored on Thursday night, marking his second multi-run game of the season with the Space Cowboys. Delgado’s only other multi-run performance came on August 7 at Albuquerque, when he scored three runs.
- Cavan Biggio went 1-for-3 with a double, two walks and three runs scored, extending his on-base streak to eight games. He has also drawn a walk in seven consecutive games, and with his two free passes on Thursday moved into first place in the Pacific Coast League with 93 walks overall on the year.
The Space Cowboys continue their six-game series in Vegas on Friday night as RHP Jason Alexander will take the mound for Sugar Land while the Aviators will throw RHP Joey Estes. First pitch is scheduled for 9:05 pm CT. The game can be seen on the Bally Sports Live app and MiLB.TV and can be heard online anywhere at SLSpaceCowboys.com/Listen.
ABOUT THE SUGAR LAND SPACE COWBOYS:
The Sugar Land Space Cowboys are the Triple-A affiliate of the Houston Astros and compete in the Pacific Coast League. They began play as the Astros’ Triple-A affiliate in 2021 and began playing under the Space Cowboys brand in 2022, winning their first Triple-A title in 2024 by clinching both the Pacific Coast League Championship and Triple-A National Championship. The Space Cowboys play at Constellation Field, located at the corner of Hwy-6 and US-90 Alternate in Sugar Land, Texas. Follow the team on Twitter (@SLSpaceCowboys), Instagram (@slspacecowboys), Facebook (SLSpaceCowboys) and their official website (slspacecowboys.com). Season ticket plans for the 2027 season are available now and can be purchased at slspacecowboys.com/tickets.