Baseball: Aces fall to I-Cubs

DES MOINES, Iowa- Reno put together a comeback effort in the ninth inning Friday night, but the effort fell short, as the Iowa Cubs topped the Aces, 4-2, in front of 12,772 fans at Principal Park.

The Aces, who were held to just five hits and were 1-for-11 with runners in scoring position, went to the game's final frame trailing 4-1. In the ninth, a walk for Chris Roberson and a single by Agustin Murillo brought the tying run to the plate with nobody out. A Cole Gillespie RBI single cut the deficit to 4-2 and brought the go-ahead run to the plate with no outs in the inning. But from there, Abraham Nunez struck out, Luke Carlin flew out and Brandon Watson lined out to quell the rally.

Friday's loss fell to Aces starter Seth Etherton (9-7), who allowed four runs on 11 hits over 4.1 innings of work. Three Reno relievers combined to hold the I-Cubs off the scoreboard over the final 3.2 innings.

Casey Fossum (3-4) picked up the victory for Iowa, scattering just a run on two hits over six innings of work. Vince Perkins bent, but didn't break, in the ninth to collect his second save.

Friday saw a pair of consecutive on-base streaks come to an end for Reno. Brandon Allen entered the game with the Pacific Coast League's longest active consecutive-game on-base streak at 25, which came to a close after an 0-for-4 night at the plate. Carlin's 26-game road on-base streak came to an end as well after he was retired in his lone plate appearance of the day, a pinch-hit appearance in the ninth.

Reno looks to salvage a series split in the finale Saturday night at Principal Park. Reno will turn to RHP Hector Ambriz (5-8, 5.65 ERA) and the I-Cubs will counter with RHP Mitch Atkins (6-10, 6.71 ERA) First pitch is set for 5:05 p.m. PT and the action can be heard live on Fox Sports Radio 1450 AM.

The Aces return home Friday, August 14, for an eight-game homestand. For tickets, stop by the Aces Ballpark Box Office, call (775) 334-7000 or visit www.RenoAces.com.