El Paso outlasts Round Rock 10-7 behind Bowen's inside-the-park homer

Jase Bowen’s inside-the-park homer sent the game into chaos, and El Paso rode that burst to a 10-7 win over Round Rock in a series opener that swung from routine to reckless in a matter of innings. The Chihuahuas turned a 2-0 start into a 6-0 cushion in the third, then had to survive a furious Round Rock response before closing out a high-volatility loss for the Express at Southwest University Park.

El Paso struck first in the bottom of the opening inning when Samad Taylor singled, Carlos Rodriguez doubled him home and Bowen added another double to make it 2-0. The real rupture came in the third. Pablo Reyes doubled, then scored when Bowen raced around the bases on an inside-the-park homer that doubled the lead and gave the Chihuahuas the kind of jolt that can break a game open. Taylor followed with a two-run single, and a one-time cushion had become a 6-0 hole for Round Rock.

Round Rock answered with the kind of middle-inning surge that made the night feel briefly salvageable. Jose Herrera singled, Dairon Blanco reached on a fielder’s choice and Nick Pratto knocked in a run with an RBI double. Gilberto Celestino and Jonah Bride each drove in runs, and Trevor Hauver capped the rally with a two-run double that pulled the Express within 6-5. For a moment, the comeback looked like the sort that can change a road trip’s tone. El Paso answered immediately, though, getting two more runs in the bottom half on a Mason McCoy double to restore control.

The Express kept swinging. Aaron Zavala tripled in the sixth, part of a night that showed why the 25-year-old outfielder has become a useful offensive piece, with nine triples and an .801 OPS entering the game. That cut the margin to 8-7, but El Paso added two insurance runs in the home half of the inning and kept Round Rock from finding the tying hit in the ninth.

Bowen’s blast was the defining swing, and the numbers behind it matched the impact. The Padres No. 23 prospect reached base in all five plate appearances, finishing 3-for-3 with two walks, while Reyes also collected three hits. The homer was the 11th inside-the-park home run in Chihuahuas history and the club’s first since Tirso Ornelas did it in Sacramento on May 28, 2025. El Paso improved to 22-26 behind winning reliever Jacob, now 4-0, and Morgan’s second save. Round Rock fell to 18-30, with Trey Supak taking the loss and dropping to 1-3 after a game that was lively enough offensively but too costly early to escape.