Reno’s eighth-inning rally falls short in 6-4 loss to Oklahoma City

Reno’s late surge had just enough life to make the ending sting. The Aces climbed out of a 4-0 hole, got within one in the eighth, and still walked away with a 6-4 loss to the Oklahoma City Comets on Wednesday night at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark.

The game was effectively tilted before Reno could settle in. Oklahoma City scored three times in the first and led 4-0 after three innings, putting Tommy Henry and the Aces on the back foot immediately. Henry took the loss, allowing four runs, three earned, in four innings with three walks and two strikeouts, a line that reflected how much pressure the Comets applied before Reno’s bats found any rhythm.

That rhythm arrived one inning at a time. Reno opened its comeback in the fourth when Luis Urías drew a walk and Matt O’Neill followed with a double to get the Aces on the board. The offense kept the game from getting away, even after Oklahoma City added an insurance run in the sixth to push the margin back to 5-1.

The eighth inning was where Reno finally looked dangerous. Andersson Rojas and LuJames Groover hit consecutive doubles to start the frame, and Groover’s drive brought in a run. Groover moved up on a wild pitch, then scored in a sequence that mixed a walk, a fielder’s-choice error and more shaky command from the Comets. By the time the inning settled, Reno had pulled within one and loaded the bases, but the breakthrough never came. Two strikeouts ended the threat and turned a real chance into another near miss.

That was the night in miniature for the Aces, who finished with traffic and extra-base contact but could not cash in when the game tightened. Rojas and Groover each went 2-for-5 with doubles and runs scored, and Reno kept forcing Oklahoma City to work, just not enough to erase the damage from the first three innings.

The Comets answered immediately with a homer in the bottom of the eighth to restore a two-run cushion, then retired Reno in order in the ninth to finish off their sixth straight win. Oklahoma City improved to 26-20, while Reno fell to 22-25, one day after the Comets had opened the series with a 6-3 win. For the Arizona Diamondbacks’ Triple-A club, the pattern was familiar: enough offense to threaten, not enough early damage control to make the comeback matter.