Reno edges Sugar Land on LuJames Groover's walk-off hit

LuJames Groover ended it in the bottom of the ninth, pushing Reno past Sugar Land after the Space Cowboys had tied the game with a run in the top half and giving the Aces their first walk-off of 2026. The win was Reno’s third straight and capped a week at Greater Nevada Field in which the Aces took four of six from the Sugar Land Space Cowboys.

The finish mattered because Reno did not blink after Sugar Land forced the pressure back onto the home club. In a league where one late pitch can flip a game, the Aces answered the tying run with one final hit of their own, turning a tense ninth inning into another entry in a growing run of close-game success. Reno had already shown it could finish in extras earlier in the year, when Adrian Amaya delivered a walk-off homer in an 11-inning win over Sacramento.

Groover was the right bat in the right spot. His 2026 line entering this stretch sat at .321 with 262 at-bats, six home runs, 49 RBIs, three stolen bases and an .881 OPS, numbers that make him one of Reno’s most productive hitters and a steady threat in late innings. He also earned Pacific Coast League Player of the Week honors earlier in the season, a recognition that fit a stretch in which his bat has carried real weight for the Aces.

That offensive depth showed up again in the Sugar Land series. Reno also put together a seven-run inning during the week, and Groover later added a grand slam in a 14-8 win over Salt Lake, another reminder that he has been one of the most dangerous finishers in the lineup. The walk-off against Sugar Land, though, was the clearest sign yet that Reno is beginning to define itself in tight games rather than merely survive them.

For Reno, the timing was important. A third straight win, a series win over a Houston Astros affiliate and a first walk-off of the season all arrived in the same stretch, giving the Arizona Diamondbacks’ Triple-A club a run of results that carries immediate value in the standings and a sharper edge in the clubhouse. In Triple-A, where late innings often decide both games and reputations, Reno has started to look comfortable with the game on the line.