Aces Take Wild Ride Resulting in 7-6 Victory Against Chihuahuas

EL PASO, Tex. – Trying to flip a similar script that the Reno Aces have seen often this series, Reno scored five times in the eighth inning and forced extra frames where they put a stop to their skid against the El Paso Chihuahuas with a 7-6 win in 10 innings.

It took until the sixth inning for the Aces (12-13) to break through onto the scoreboard, striking first on an RBI triple from Luken Baker. It was just the third triple of his professional career, the last coming as a member of the St. Louis Cardinals on Sept. 17, 2024 against Pittsburgh.

Two innings later and Reno was able to surpass the Chihuahuas (11-14), scoring five times which were highlighted by a two-run blast from Matt O’Neill. His second dinger of 2026 came with two outs, trailing a sacrifice fly from Jacob Amaya and an RBI single from Jack Hurley.

Finally, it was an error that allowed the Aces to take their first lead of the night, as Andrew Velazquez made a two-out walk hurt when he promptly stole second and then scored on the error.

Unfortunately, El Paso kicked off the home half of the eighth with a solo shot from Nick Schnell, and then managed one more run in the home half of the ninth that tied the game yet again at 6-6.

A scoreless ninth inning gave way to extra frames, and the Aces were able to take advantage of the free runner by moving runners into scoring position on a sacrifice bunt. Though not intended to be, Jack Hurley had a ball function as a bunt when he chopped a ball in front of home plate leading to a fielding error, allowing Baker to score the game’s go-ahead run.

The bottom of the 10th inning did not come without excitement, as the Chihuahuas had the game-tying run at third after a wild pitch moved the free runner up 90 feet. Able to block out the pressure, Gerardo Carrillo (3-1) used a final line out and ground out to escape the jam and secure the win for Reno.

Tonight’s win marked the first of the year for the Aces against El Paso and stopped a previous nine-game skid that Reno held against the Chihuahuas. Additionally, it was the first extra-innings win of the season in three tries after dropping each of their first two in 10 frames.

Hurley finished his night 2-for-3 with a pair of RBI, two walks and a run scored. Over his past two games he is 6-for-8 (.750) with three runs scored.

Baker’s only hit of the night in five trips was the triple, the 15th of the season for the Aces as a team. Not only does that lead every level of professional baseball, but it puts Reno on pace to end the season with 94 triples which would easily be a franchise record (current: 70, 2017) and would be one shy of the all-time PCL record set by the Phoenix Giants in 1973.

Finally in the win column for the series, Reno will look to ride the momentum in game five of the series on Saturday at 5:35 p.m. PT.