Shay Whitcomb crushes ninth-inning walk-off homer to stun Aces in 8-7 comeback victory

 

Written by: Ashton Grissom, SFL Writer | Photo credit: SL Space Cowboys

Sugar Land’s right fielder Shay Whitcomb once again was the hero against the Reno Aces. After propelling the Space Cowboys to victory last night with a two-homer game, he hit two more today including a walk-off homerun in the ninth inning to win 8-7. Whitcomb finished the game 3-5 with two runs scored and five RBIs.

Shortstop Zach Short also had himself a game recording two hits including a leadoff homerun in the first inning, two RBIs and scored three runs. He also drew a clutch walk in the final inning which led to the walk-off home run. The Space Cowboys' starting pitcher, Miguel Ullola, had a solid outing tossing four innings allowing five hits and two earned runs but managed to strike out eight batters.

The Aces responded quickly to Short’s solo shot in the first inning with catcher Michael Pérez blasting a two-run shot in the second inning and adding another RBI in the fifth to take a 3-1 lead. Reno again took advantage of a balk and timely hits and scored three more runs in the sixth to lead 6-1.

The Space Cowboys stormed all the way back in the seventh inning to tie the game at 6-6. Short started things off by driving an RBI single to left field, scoring first baseman Luis Castro. Whitcomb then hit a two-run shot to cut the deficit to one. Third baseman Jesús Bastidas singled later in the inning scoring Sugar Land’s designated hitter Jacob Melton, which tied the game.

Pérez once again delivered in the final inning for the Aces with another RBI which gave his team a 7-6 lead. After a walk by Short in the bottom of the ninth, Whitcomb deposited his 13th homer of the year over the left fielder wall for an impressive comeback win over the Reno Aces.

Next up, the Space Cowboys play game three of the homestand on Thursday, May 15, at Constellation Field. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.