The Las Vegas Aviators swept their series against the Tacoma Rainiers 6-0. The Aviators won game six 6-4 on a cloudy Sunday at Las Vegas Ballpark.
The Rainiers started strong with two runs in the first inning. Dominic Canzone hit a two-run homer off of Mason Barnett. George Kirby started on the mound for the Rainiers.
Second baseman Logan Davidson had a great play to end the second inning. The Aviator had a double play after catching a line drive and throwing the runner out at first.
Cole Young hit an RBI single, increasing the Rainiers lead to 3-0 in the third inning. Carlos Cortes hit a line drive homer of 425ft over the center field fence to put the Aviators on the board 3-1.
Jhonathan Diaz replaced Kirby on the mound for the Rainiers in the fourth inning. Willie MacIver grounded up the middle for the team’s second hit of the game.
Las Vegas offense heated up in the fifth inning. CJ Alexander hit his sixth home run of the season. Alexander went yard to centerfield with a 393ft hit ball. The Aviators trailed the Rainiers by one, 2-3. Daniel Susac hit a single on a fly ball that dropped short between center and right field.
Jacob Lopez took the mound for the Aviators in the sixth inning. Barnett wrapped up his time on the mound, throwing 5.0 innings, 79 pitches, striking out four batters and allowing five hits and three runs. Lopez caused two groundouts and stuck out one batter to start his stint. Denzel Clarke led off with a single for Las Vegas. Logan Davidson doubled to left field. McIver hit an RBI single short to left field to pull the Aviators in the lead 4-3. With no outs, Hagen Danner replaced Diaz on the mound for Tacoma. Alexander singled to right field. Max Muncy hit an RBI double down the left-field line. Las Vegas took a 6-3 lead.
The seventh inning came with a new pitcher for the Aviators. Michel Otañez replaced Lopez, who threw 1.0 innings and struck out one batter. Otañez caused three groundouts. Josh Fleming was the new Tacoma pitcher to face the Aviator’s offense. Las Vegas continued to stay hot. Alejo Lopez singled up the middle. Clarke hit a short grounder to reach first.
Angel Perdomo controlled the mound in the eighth inning for Las Vegas. Canzone hit his second homer of the game to put the Rainiers at 4-6. Troy Taylor replaced Fleming for the Rainiers, and the Aviators did not get a hit. Ben Bowden took over the mound for Las Vegas. Two batters got on base with no outs, but Bowden was able to strike out two and cause a line out to win the game.
Lopez earned the win for the Aviators. He is 3-0 this season. Bowden earned the save. Las Vegas had 11 hits compared to Tacoma’s eight.
