Aces Head Into All-Star Break In First Place

Fresno, Calif. - The Reno Aces took on the Fresno Grizzlies in a scheduled doubleheader Saturday night from Chukchansi Park. Game one went in the direction of the home team as the Aces fell by a score of 2-1. Reno managed just one hit through seven innings and Aces starter Eric Jokisch allowed two runs on six hits in the loss.
Fresno got into the scoring column first in the bottom of the third inning. Preston Tucker hit a leadoff solo home run off the southpaw to give the Grizzlies a 1-0 lead. Reno would respond in the top of the fifth inning, stringing together two hits and a sacrifice fly to scratch across their first run of the evening. Jack Reinheimer and Rudy Flores got the inning started with back-to-back singles. After a Kristopher Negrón sacrifice bunt, Hank Conger notched his 39^th RBI of the season with a sacrifice fly to score Reinheimer. 

Reid Brignac gave the Grizzlies their second lead of the evening in the bottom of the fifth. On the first pitch of the at-bat, Brignac launched his 9^th home run of the season over the right field wall to give Fresno a 2-1 advantage. Brendan McCurry entered in the bottom of the 7^th for Fresno and sat down the Aces in order, striking out the side and recording his third save of the season. The loss brought Reno to a record of 54-35 with one game remaining before the All-Star break.
Braden Shipley got the nod for Greg Gross in game two of the doubleheader. Shipley allowed seven runs on 10 hits in 4.0 innings of work. Fresno had multi-run innings in the second and third, plating five in the third inning to increase their lead to 7-0. Offensively, A.J. Reed led the way for the Grizzlies, finishing 2-for-3 with a three-run home run. The Grizzlies would defeat the Aces by a score of 9-2 in the second game of the double-dip.
Christian Walker drove in his league-high 88^th RBI, one shy of the franchise record for most RBI before the All-Star break. The 2017 Triple-A All-Star finished his first half with 22 home runs, 88 RBI, and 204 total bases. As a team, Reno heads into the break with a 54-36 record and find themselves five games up in the Pacific Northern Division over the Grizzlies.
Reno will take the next four days off for the All-Star break. Four Aces players will head to Tacoma, Washington and participate in the Triple-A All-Star game on Wednesday. Walker will join Triple-A's biggest sluggers in the Home Run Derby Monday night. The Aces will return home to Greater Nevada Field on Thursday, July 13^th and take on the El Paso Chihuahuas. Tickets are on-sale now at www.renoaces.com or by calling (775) 334-4700. Follow the club all season long on Twitter (@Aces) or like the team on Facebook.