The Las Vegas Aviators spent much of Tuesday night looking like they were running away with Game 1 of the Pacific Coast League Championship. Oklahoma City made them fight for every final out.
Las Vegas built an eight-run lead, watched most of it disappear and survived for a 13-11 victory over the Comets at Las Vegas Ballpark. Seven of nine Aviators starters had a hit, Bryan Lavastida and Johnathan Rodríguez drove in three runs apiece and Taylor Rashi delivered two critical scoreless innings after Oklahoma City had pulled within one.
The Aviators lead the best-of-three series 1-0 and are one victory from a PCL championship.
Las Vegas attacks early
The Aviators immediately put pressure on Oklahoma City starter Jackson Ferris.
Cole Conn walked to open the first and scored when Darell Hernaiz doubled to left. Brayan Buelvas followed with a bunt single, Joey Meneses walked and Rodríguez lifted a sacrifice fly that brought Hernaiz home for a 2-0 lead.
Las Vegas added three more in the third. Meneses singled and Rodríguez walked before Lavastida drove in Meneses with a single to right. Luke Mann then singled home Rodríguez and Lavastida, pushing the advantage to 5-0.
The Aviators finished with 10 hits, but their ability to reach base turned the game into a constant strain on Oklahoma City pitching. The Comets issued 12 walks, and Las Vegas went 5-for-16 with runners in scoring position.
Comets make their first charge
James Tibbs III put Oklahoma City on the board with a solo homer in the fourth, but Las Vegas answered in the bottom half.
Conn walked, stole second and advanced to third on catcher Ben Rortvedt’s throwing error. Meneses then grounded into a force play that scored Conn and restored a 6-1 lead.
The cushion nearly disappeared in the fifth.
Hyeseong Kim singled and Rortvedt doubled him home before Zach Ehrhard singled in another run. Conn’s fielding error allowed Ehrhard to reach second, and Alek Thomas walked to end Kade Morris’ night.
Morris was charged with five runs on five hits and three walks over four innings.
Rashi stops the game from turning
Rashi inherited a dangerous situation and initially watched it get worse.
Tibbs walked to load the bases before Ryan Fitzgerald singled home Ehrhard and Thomas, cutting the Las Vegas lead to 6-5 with nobody out. Oklahoma City had erased four runs from the deficit and still had two runners aboard.
Rashi responded with the most important stretch of pitching in the game.
He struck out Mike Sirota, Chris Newell and Noah Miller in succession, stranding the tying run and preventing Oklahoma City from finishing the comeback. Rashi returned for the sixth and allowed only a walk, completing two scoreless innings with four strikeouts.
He earned the win.
Aviators answer with six
Las Vegas immediately turned Rashi’s escape into another offensive surge.
Devin Taylor walked and Conn singled to begin the sixth before Hernaiz walked to load the bases. Meneses drew another walk to force home Taylor, then Rodríguez singled to right to score Conn and Hernaiz for a 9-5 lead.
Lavastida followed with an RBI single. Jack Winkler reached on an error before Mann and Conn each drew bases-loaded walks, completing a six-run inning that stretched the lead to 12-5.
Lavastida doubled home Meneses in the seventh, giving Las Vegas its largest lead at 13-5.
At that point, the game appeared under control. Oklahoma City had other plans.
Eight-run lead nearly disappears
Luis Morales struck out Newell to begin the eighth before the inning unraveled.
Miller and Kim singled, Rortvedt walked and Ehrhard drew a bases-loaded walk to make it 13-6. A wild pitch scored Kim, and another walk reloaded the bases.
James Gonzalez entered with Las Vegas ahead 13-7, but defensive mistakes gave the Comets more life.
Tibbs reached on Winkler’s fielding error, allowing another run to score. Fitzgerald’s groundout brought home Ehrhard, then Matt Gorski reached on Luke Mann’s error as Thomas scored.
An eight-run Las Vegas lead had shrunk to three.
Gonzalez finally stopped the inning when Miller lined out to Rodríguez in right, preserving a 13-10 advantage. Las Vegas committed four errors in the game, including two by Winkler.
Bowden survives the final push
The drama continued in the ninth.
Eliezer Alfonzo reached on Winkler’s throwing error to begin the inning, but Ben Bowden induced Rortvedt into a double play. Ehrhard then launched a two-out solo homer to left, cutting the lead to 13-11.
Bowden responded by striking out Thomas to finish it.
The final out ended a 3-hour, 21-minute game that featured 24 runs, 19 hits, 21 walks and six errors.
Lavastida leads deep offensive effort
Lavastida finished 3-for-5 with a double, three RBIs and two runs, delivering run-scoring hits in the third, sixth and seventh innings.
Rodríguez drove in three and scored twice, while Mann went 2-for-4 with three RBIs and a stolen base. Meneses reached four times with a hit and three walks, scored three runs and drove in two.
Conn also reached four times, finishing with a hit, three walks, three runs and an RBI.
The depth mattered because Oklahoma City never stopped applying pressure. Even after Las Vegas rebuilt its lead to eight runs, the Comets forced the Aviators to use five relievers and bring the potential tying run back into the conversation late.
One win from a championship
Game 1 was not clean, but Las Vegas repeatedly found an answer.
Rashi stopped Oklahoma City when a five-run lead had been reduced to one. The offense immediately responded with six runs, and Gonzalez finally ended the eighth after the Comets turned a 13-5 game into a 13-10 contest.
Bowden then secured the final three outs after one last Oklahoma City push.
The Aviators now need one more win to finish their record-setting season with a Pacific Coast League championship.
Up next
Game 2 is Wednesday at Las Vegas Ballpark, with first pitch scheduled for 7:05 p.m. PDT.
Left-hander Ryan Magdic is scheduled to start for Las Vegas. Oklahoma City has not announced its starter.
An Aviators win Wednesday secures the PCL championship. An Oklahoma City victory would force a deciding Game 3 on Thursday night.
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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.
