Kade Morris and the Las Vegas bullpen nearly erased Sugar Land from the box score Wednesday night.
Morris allowed one hit over six scoreless innings, then Hunter Bigge, Ben Bowden and Hayden Juenger finished the job as the Aviators beat the Space Cowboys 5-0 at Constellation Field. Las Vegas improved to 85-59 overall, won its seventh straight game and remained three games ahead of Tacoma in the Pacific Coast League West.
Sugar Land managed only a first-inning single by Brice Matthews and finished 0-for-4 with runners in scoring position.
Morris dominates after early single
Matthews singled with one out in the first inning and stole second. Sugar Land did not record another hit.
Morris struck out Cavan Biggio before retiring Jason Schiavone on a groundout to end the inning. He then worked around two walks in the fourth and retired the side in order in both the third and fifth.
The right-hander finished with six scoreless innings, allowing one hit and two walks while striking out five. Morris threw 82 pitches, 56 for strikes, and improved to 9-5 with a 4.08 ERA.
His final inning was clean. Morris struck out Lucas Spence, got Matthews to fly out and retired Biggio on a groundout.
Four-run fifth breaks scoreless tie
Las Vegas did not score through the first four innings, but the offense finally broke through in the fifth.
Bryan Lavastida opened the inning with a double before Jared Dickey and Davis Diaz walked to load the bases. After Cole Conn struck out, Darell Hernaiz reached on a throwing error by third baseman Trevor Austin.
The error allowed Lavastida and Dickey to score, giving the Aviators a 2-0 lead.
Brayan Buelvas then lined a two-run double to left, scoring Diaz and Hernaiz and extending the lead to 4-0.
All four runs in the inning were unearned.
Lavastida keeps producing
Lavastida was the most productive hitter in the Las Vegas lineup.
He finished 3-for-3 with a double and a walk, accounting for half of the Aviators’ six hits.
Johnathan Rodríguez also had two hits, including a double, while Buelvas drove in two.
The Aviators went 2-for-9 with runners in scoring position and left seven on base.
Bullpen preserves the one-hitter
Bigge replaced Morris in the seventh and worked around two walks.
He struck out CJ Alexander and got Trevor Austin to ground out with runners on second and third, preserving the shutout.
Bowden handled the eighth and allowed only a walk while striking out two.
Juenger then retired Sugar Land in order in the ninth, getting Schiavone and Alexander on flyouts before Dezenzo grounded out to end the game.
The four Las Vegas pitchers combined for eight strikeouts and allowed five walks.
One more run in the eighth
The Aviators added an insurance run in the eighth.
Rodríguez singled, Jack Winkler walked and Lavastida singled to load the bases. Dickey then grounded into a fielder’s choice that brought Rodríguez home for a 5-0 lead.
The RBI was Dickey’s 54th of the season.
Aviators keep control of PCL West
The victory moved Las Vegas to 41-30 in the second half and extended its winning streak to seven games.
Tacoma remains three games behind at 38-33. Sacramento sits five games back at 36-35.
Las Vegas has now won the first two games of the series in Sugar Land and continues to control the PCL West with four regular-season games remaining.
Up next
The Aviators continue the series Thursday at Constellation Field.
First pitch is scheduled for 5:05 p.m. PDT. Las Vegas has not announced its starting pitcher, while Sugar Land is scheduled to start right-hander Mayer, who is 2-2 with a 4.66 ERA.
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Dice City Sports editor Mark Hebert covers the Las Vegas Aces, Vegas Golden Knights, Las Vegas Raiders, Athletics, and UNLV baseball and softball. He has 24 years of journalism experience, is also a senior reporter at Exhibit City News, and previously covered the Dallas Stars and Texas Rangers. Follow him on X or connect on LinkedIn.
