Shenton Smokes Fifth Homer in 10-3 Loss to Aviators, Tacoma Drops Fifth-Straight

LAS VEGAS, NV (May 1, 2025) - The Tacoma Rainiers (11-19) dropped fifth-straight with a 10-3 loss to the Las Vegas Aviators (20-10) on Thursday night at the Las Vegas Ballpark.

Las Vegas jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning. Zack Gelof led off the frame with a single in his second rehab game for the Athletics. Logan Davidson followed with a walk before a sacrifice fly to right from Colby Thomas scored Gelof.

Davidson continued the scoring in the bottom of the third inning with an RBI single to score Gelof who reached on his second single of the day before advancing on a wild pitch to put him in scoring position.

With Vegas up by two, the Aviators added two more in the bottom of the fifth inning. A double from Denzel Clark began the inning followed by a single from Drew Avans. Gelof hit a sacrifice fly to right field to score Clarke ahead of an RBI single from Darell Hernaiz that capped off the frame.

Willie MacIver launched a solo homer to right center in the bottom of the sixth to extend the lead to five.

Spencer Packard put Tacoma on the board in the top of the seventh and put the Rainiers within reach. A walk from Jacob Nottingham followed by a bunt single from Colin Davis and a single from Jack Lopez would load the bases. Packard came through with a two-run single to center field to cut the deficit to three.

Austin Shenton smoked his second homer of the series and fifth of the year to lead off the eighth inning. The solo shot out to center field put the Rainiers within two.

In the home half of the eighth inning, Las Vegas sent ten to the plate scoring five runs on four hits. An RBI double from Denzel Clarke along with an RBI single from Drew Avans extended a 7-3 lead prior to a bases-loaded walk drawn by Darell Hernaiz that extended the lead to five. Colby Thomas capped off the scoring with a two-run single to center field that brought the score to 10-3 in favor of the Aviators. The Rainiers were set down in order with three ground outs after Tanner Dodson came in to close.

Postgame Notes:

• With another two-hit performance tonight, Jack Lopez has now collected three multi-hit games in this series…across the first three games against Las Vegas he is hitting .583 (7x12) with a pair of RBI.
• Austin Shenton hit his second homer of the series with his solo shot in the sixth inning…his five homers on the season now leads the active roster and ties Samad Taylor for most on the season…both of Shenton’s hits this series (2x8) have been solo homers after he went back-to-back in the second inning with Dominc Canzone on Tuesday.