The Oklahoma City Comets secured the first Triple-A National Championship in franchise history on Saturday, September 26, 2026, defeating the Rochester Red Wings 5-3 in 10 innings at Las Vegas Ballpark.
Alek Thomas broke a 2-2 tie in the top of the 10th inning with a bases-clearing, three-run double off Rochester reliever Clayton Beeter. The clutch hit gave the Comets-the Triple-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers-their first lead of the contest, capping a late-game rally that saw the team score five unanswered runs.
Rochester had controlled the tempo early on. The International League champions built a 2-0 lead through the first two innings behind an RBI single from Leandro Pineda in the first and a solo home run by Liover Peguero in the second off starting pitcher Emmet Sheehan.
Oklahoma City, which captured the Pacific Coast League title earlier in the week, struggled to find its rhythm against Rochester pitching early in the game. However, the offense broke through in the eighth inning. Mike Sirota drove in an RBI single to put the Comets on the board, and Ryan Fitzgerald followed with a game-tying double off the wall in left-center field.
Relief pitcher Seth Halvorsen locked down the win for Oklahoma City. After escaping a jam in the bottom of the ninth inning, Halvorsen returned for the 10th. Though Rochester scored an automatic runner via a double play, Halvorsen struck out Leandro Pineda to secure the final out and earn his ninth save of the season.
"It’s been such a cool year," Thomas told MLB Network after the game. "A lot of things happened to me, and I just continued to push through. The Dodgers organization helped me with a lot of things. I’m very blessed to be with these guys."
The victory marks a strong finish for the Comets, who closed out their championship run by winning 21 of their final 25 games of the season.
