The Silver State Diamond Challenge is a Minor League Baseball rivalry between Nevada's two Triple-A baseball teams, the Las Vegas Aviators and the Reno Aces of the Pacific Coast League (PCL). The rivalry began in 2009 when the Aces joined the PCL as members of the Pacific Conference Southern Division along with the Aviators, who were known as the Las Vegas 51s at the time.
The winner of the regular season series between Las Vegas and Reno receives the Silver Plate Trophy, a silver replica of a home plate with an image of the state of Nevada and markings of the locations of Las Vegas and Reno on the left, while the opposite side lists the winner of the series for each year.
In the event of a tie series, the defending champion from the previous season retains the trophy. The only exception to this rule was in the first season, which ended in a tie. To determine the inaugural champion, the mayors of each city met to draw cards to break the tie. A card draw occurred at Aces Ballpark in downtown Reno with Las Vegas mayor Oscar Goodman drawing a 7, while Reno mayor Bob Cashell drew a 6, giving the 51s the Silver Plate Trophy for 2009.
All-time series results SeasonSeries winnerLas Vegas winsReno winsNotes200951s88Series tied; champion decided by card draw2010Aces511—2011Aces88Series tied; Aces retain trophy2012Aces88Series tied; Aces retain trophy201351s133—201451s88Series tied; 51s retain trophy201551s115—2016Aces79—2017Aces412—201851s106—2019Aviators115First season as Las Vegas Aviators2020season cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic2021Aces10152022TBDOverallTied, 6–610398——
2009 Date Winning team Score Location June 15 Reno 5–3 Reno June 16 Reno 4–2 Reno June 17 Las Vegas 5–0 Reno July 1 Las Vegas 12–6 Las Vegas July 2 Las Vegas 2–0 Las Vegas July 3 Reno 3–1 Las Vegas July 8 Las Vegas 12–9 (10) Reno July 9 Las Vegas 5–4 (10) Reno July 10 Reno 10–9 Reno July 11 Reno 9–5 Reno July 12 Las Vegas 10–5 Reno August 26 Reno 6–4 Las Vegas August 27 Las Vegas 1–0 Las Vegas August 28 Reno 6–0 Las Vegas August 29 Reno 14–6 Las Vegas August 30 Las Vegas 9–0 Las Vegas
2010 Date Winning team Score Location May 3 Reno 8–7 Reno May 4 Reno 6–3 Reno May 5 Las Vegas 13–7 Reno May 6 Reno 12–2 Reno July 1 Reno 9–2 Las Vegas July 2 Las Vegas 9–5 Las Vegas July 3 Reno 11–9 Las Vegas July 27 Las Vegas 7–5 Reno July 28 Reno 8–0 Reno July 29 Reno 11–3 Reno July 30 Las Vegas 12–9 Reno August 25 Reno 5–1 Las Vegas August 26 Reno 4–2 Las Vegas August 27 Reno 10–5 Las Vegas August 28 Reno 12–10 Las Vegas August 29 Las Vegas 12–8 Las Vegas
2011 Date Winning team Score Location May 2 Reno 12–8 Las Vegas May 3 Las Vegas 7–6 Las Vegas May 4 Las Vegas 4–3 Las Vegas May 5 Las Vegas 5–3 Las Vegas June 17 Las Vegas 6–4 Las Vegas June 18 Las Vegas 5–4 Las Vegas June 19 Reno 12–9 Las Vegas June 20 Reno 8–4 Las Vegas June 21 Reno 13–6 Reno June 22 Las Vegas 16–8 Reno June 23 Reno 8–7 Reno June 24 Reno 16–7 Reno July 26 Reno 10–5 Reno July 27 Las Vegas 7–3 Reno July 28 Reno 8–6 Reno July 29 Las Vegas 11–7 Reno
References
External links Article about the rivalry including a picture of the Silver Plate Trophy