Back-And-Forth Battle Ends In 12th Inning Walk Off In Salt Lake

Alexander Homers Twice as Part of Three-Hit Night

By Raymond Brown/Sugar Land Space Cowboys

April 16, 2026

The Sugar Land Space Cowboys (10-7) battled through a back-and-forth, extra-innings marathon on Wednesday night, ultimately falling 9-8 in 12 innings to the Salt Lake Bees (7-10) at The Ballpark at America First Square. Sugar Land struck first in the opening inning as CJ Alexander continued his hot streak at

Sugar Land struck first in the opening inning as CJ Alexander continued his hot streak at the plate. He got around on an early pitch and launched a two-out solo home run to give the Space Cowboys an early 1-0 lead.

CJ Alexander goes yard 💥Space Cowboys strike first! 1-0 Sugar Land #ASCEND pic.twitter.com/VOq6xwF5Iq
— Sugar Land Space Cowboys (@SLSpaceCowboys) April 16, 2026

Salt Lake answered in the second after a double from Donovan Walton and a walk by Chris Taylor put two on. A wild pitch and a throwing error allowed Walton to score, evening the score at 1-1.

The Space Cowboys regained control in the third. James Nelson doubled to start the frame, and Jack Winkler followed with a single to center that brought Nelson home. An error on the play allowed Winkler to move into scoring position, setting the table for Alexander’s second homer of the night, a two-run blast that pushed Sugar Land ahead 4-1.

In the fifth, Winkler added to the lead with a solo home run, extending the advantage to 5-1.

Salt Lake responded in the bottom half, as Nelson Rada singled with two outs before Christian Moore launched a two-run home run to cut into the deficit. Niko Kavadas followed with a double to score Denzer Guzman as the Bees continued to chip away.

The sixth inning saw Salt Lake surge ahead. After a pair of walks and a flyout, Yolmer Sánchez lifted a deep fly ball that allowed Walton to tag and score. Rada then delivered the big swing of the inning, an inside-the-park home run that put the Bees in front 7-5.

However, Sugar Land would find a rally in the final two frames of regulation. In the eighth, Jax Biggers worked a leadoff walk and Riley Unroe lined a double to bring him home, trimming the deficit to one.

In the ninth, the Space Cowboys completed another late push. Collin Price doubled with one out before Kellen Strahm beat out a grounder on a diving play at first base, keeping the inning alive and allowing pinch-runner Parker Chavers to score the tying run and even the game at 7-7.

Extra innings stayed tight until the 12th, when Cavan Biggio moved Chavers into scoring position with a ground ball. Strahm came through again, bouncing a single to center to bring home the go-ahead run and give Sugar Land an 8-7 lead.

CLUTCH STRAHM AGAIN 😤🔥RBI SINGLE in the biggest moment! pic.twitter.com/Ou3B5LcNzM
— Sugar Land Space Cowboys (@SLSpaceCowboys) April 16, 2026

In the bottom of the inning, Rada opened the frame with a bunt single to put the tying and winning runs on base, and Moore delivered the final blow, a walk-off double to right field that scored both runners and sealed a 9-8 Bees victory.

NOTABLE:

CJ Alexander recorded his first multi-homer game of the season Wednesday night, going 3-for-6 with two home runs, three RBI and two runs scored. It is the first multi-home runs game for Alexander since August 4, 2024 with Omaha at Rochester.

In six career games against the Salt Lake Bees CJ Alexander is 10-for-24 (.417) with five home runs and ten runs batted in.

Collin Price extends his hitting streak to six on Wednesday night, going 2-for-4 with a double and a walk. Over the course of his streak, Price is 9-for-19 (.474/.600) with three doubles and five walks. The Space Cowboys now have three players on a four game or more hitting streaks as James Nelson and Carlos Perez are both on four game hitting streaks.

Jack Winkler extended his on-base streak to seven games on Wednesday as he collected three hits, going 3-for-6 with a home run, two RBI and two runs scored. Over his streak, Winkler is 9-for-30 (.300/.364) with a double, three home runs, eight RBI, two walks and six runs scored.

Sugar Land had a total of seventeen hits on Wednesday, which marks a season high for the Space Cowboys.

The Space Cowboys recorded a season-high 17 hits on Wednesday night, surpassing their previous high of 11 which they registered on March 31 at Jacksonville.

Wednesday night marked the second time Sugar Land has played 12 innings this season, with their other 12-inning affair coming last Thursday against Tacoma. Prior to last Thursday, the Space Cowboys had not played a 12-inning game since 2022.

Sugar Land faces off against the Salt Lake Bees for game three of the series on Thursday night. First pitch is at 7:35 pm CT and neither team has announced a starter. The game can be heard online anywhere at SLSpaceCowboys.com/Listen.

ABOUT THE SUGAR LAND SPACE COWBOYS:

The Sugar Land Space Cowboys are the Triple-A affiliate of the Houston Astros and compete in the Pacific Coast League. They began play as the Astros’ Triple-A affiliate in 2021 and began playing under the Space Cowboys brand in 2022, winning their first Triple-A title in 2024 by clinching both the Pacific Coast League Championship and Triple-A National Championship. The Space Cowboys play at Constellation Field, located at the corner of Hwy-6 and US-90 Alternate in Sugar Land, Texas. Follow the team on Twitter (@SLSpaceCowboys), Instagram (@slspacecowboys), Facebook (SLSpaceCowboys) and their official website (slspacecowboys.com). Season ticket plans for the 2026 season are available now and can be purchased at slspacecowboys.com/tickets.