Waldschmidt’s Double Gives Reno Series Win Over Tacoma

TACOMA, Wash. – A close contest nearly all the way through was decided with one swing in the eighth inning when Ryan Waldschmidt doubled home a pair of runs to give the Reno Aces a series victory over the Tacoma Rainiers thanks to a 2-1 win on Sunday.

Starting pitching was locked in on both sides from the jump, including Aces (7-5/39-48) starter Mitch Bratt who for the fourth time this season tossed four full scoreless innings. By his exit Bratt had punched out six batters without issuing a walk, his most in any of his scoreless outings and one off his season best of seven in Sacramento on May 8.

Reno had a tough time with Rainiers (4-8/37-50) righty Casey Lawrence, as they failed to score over 6.1 frames against Lawrence while striking out four times with only one walk.

Both bullpens kept the line moving, including an impressive three full frames for the Aces from southpaw Spencer Giesting (2-1) as he punched out three of the 10 batters he faced.

At the conclusion of Giesting’s three frames, Reno finally broke the game’s scoreless tie with a pair of runs in the top of the eighth. That was Reno’s first run since Friday night’s contest, as the Aces went two games worth of innings (18) without a run.

Striking with two outs in the inning was Waldschmidt, as he drove home the duo of Christian Cerda and Kristian Robinson, both of whom had worked their way aboard with a walk.

However, Tacoma took back a run in the bottom half of the frame when they singled in three straight at-bats, the last of which from Connor Joe drove in a run.

Both teams tried to add on more in the ninth by putting a runner into scoring position, with the Rainiers coming the closest as they had the game-tying run just 90 feet from home plate until a foul out to third base brought an end to the game with its 2-1 final.

That secured the first series win for the Aces since they took four of six games from the Sugar Land Space Cowboys in Reno from April 28 through May 3.

Picking up the win for Reno was Giesting, his second of the season. Meanwhile, Gerardo Carrillo (S, 4) had heavy lifting to do by working the final five outs with two hits allowed and one strikeout for his fourth save of the season.

Waldschmidt had two hits on the day, but none bigger than his game-winning double in the eighth. Also finishing with two hits was Jean Walters, a pair of doubles though he was unable to score a run.

Riding the momentum of a series win, the Aces will play their final series before the All-Star break in Reno next week when they host Round Rock for six games beginning on Tuesday at 6:35 p.m. PT.