Space Cowboys Slug Their Way To Wild Saturday Victory

On a windy and stormy evening in Reno, the Sugar Land Space Cowboys (17-15) slugged three homers and held on for an 8-7 victory over the Reno Aces (16-16) on Saturday night at Greater Nevada Field.

The Space Cowboys got out to a lead in the second when Carlos Pérez started the frame with a four-pitch walk before moving to third on a single by Riley Unroe and scoring on a Cavan Biggio base hit, putting the Space Cowboys up 1-0. Reno struck back and scored two in the bottom of the second on three-straight hits and a sacrifice fly, taking a 2-1 lead to the third.

Biggio gets us on the board! #Ascend pic.twitter.com/1lfusVQcY4

— Sugar Land Space Cowboys (@SLSpaceCowboys) May 2, 2026

Pérez came through with a clutch hit to put Sugar Land in front in the third. James Nelson and CJ Alexander each collected one-out base hits before Pérez clubbed a three-run homer to left, his fourth of the season, to put Sugar Land up 4-2.

PEREZ FOR THE LEAD! 🚀#Ascend pic.twitter.com/ABq4rEvgIt

— Sugar Land Space Cowboys (@SLSpaceCowboys) May 3, 2026

On the hill, LHP Josh Hendrickson (W, 2-0) took the lead and carried the Space Cowboys through the fifth inning. He escaped his only other jam in the third when he got an inning-ending double play off the bat of Luken Baker to leave the bases loaded. All told, Hendrickson went 5.0 innings and allowed just two runs on five hits with two walks and five strikeouts.

Sugar Land put up a crooked number in the sixth when Jack Winkler reached on a wild pitch. Collin Price then pummeled a home run to center field, pushing the Space Cowboys to a 6-2 lead. Unroe was hit by a pitch in the ensuing at bat at which point the rain started to fall and the game went into a 35-minute rain delay. After the delay, Unroe stole second, moved to third on a passed ball and scored on a sacrifice walk by Biggio, widening the Space Cowboys lead to 7-2.

Collin Price - Bringer of rain ☔️ 😤 pic.twitter.com/77d12taDX9

— Sugar Land Space Cowboys (@SLSpaceCowboys) May 3, 2026

Reno struck for single runs in the sixth and seventh, but another Price homer, his second of the night, recaptured the Space Cowboys four-run lead going to the bottom of the eighth. In the home half of the frame, three-consecutive hits, including a two-run homer, pulled the Aces within a run at 8-7.

RHP Anthony Maldonado (S, 1) was summoned for the bottom of the ninth inning and had the first two men reach before getting a strikeout. Following an intentional walk, Maldonado fell behind 3-0 to Baker but rallied back to strike out the Aces’ first baseman before coaxing a flyout to center to end the game.

NOTABLE:

• Collin Price collected his first multi-homer game of the season and the third of his professional career. His last multi-home run game came back on September 3, 2025 vs. Oklahoma City at Constellation Field. It is the fourth multi-homer game for Sugar Land this season and the second of this series in Reno (James Nelson, April 30)
• By going 1-for-5 with a run scored on Saturday, James Nelson extended his hitting streak to 11 games, going 16-for-49 (.327) in that span with four doubles, three home runs, four RBI, six runs scored and three stolen bases in four attempts. Nelson’s 11-game hitting streak is tied for the second-longest active hitting streak in the Pacific Coast League.
• INF Riley Unroe extended his hitting streak to six games, going 1-for-3 with a run scored and a stolen base. In his last six games, Unroe is slashing .320/.370/.520 (8-for-25) with two doubles, a home run, two RBI and four runs scored.
• LHP Josh Hendrickson has allowed two or fewer runs in all three of his starts with the Space Cowboys this season. He allowed his first two walks of the year on Saturday night but has struck out 15 batters in 14.1 innings so far with Sugar Land.

Sugar Land goes for the series split on Sunday afternoon at Greater Nevada Field. RHP Brandon Bielak is scheduled to start for Sugar Land while Reno has not named a starter for a 3:05 pm CT first pitch. 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.