Nashville Stampede: 172 / Kansas City Outlaws: 168

GLENDALE, Ariz. – The Nashville Stampede made two qualified rides count in earning a crucial victory over the Kansas City Outlaws, 172-168, on night 1 of the final regular-season event of the 2022 PBR (Professional Bull Riders) Team Series season in Glendale, Arizona.

After going 3-for-3 a week prior in Fort Worth, Texas, the Kansas City Outlaws readied to repeat their Texas-sized success in Glendale with head coach J.W. Hart stone-faced and focused on the back of the chutes. Leadoff rider Rafael Henrique Dos Santos (Sebastianopolis, Brazil) confidently dominated Black Friday (H-H Bucking Bulls/ Hadley Cattle Co) as the game opened. Recording 81.5 points, Dos Santos set the tone as 2018 PBR World Champion Kaique Pacheco (Itatiba, Brazil) readied to ride in response. Showcasing the ice-cold, champion caliber he’s known for, Pacheco climbed aboard Money (Culp Bucking Bulls/ Zapata/ Mendes) as Nashville coach Justin McBride gave him parting words of encouragement. The Ice Man’s 86.75-point score put the first points of the night on the board for the Stampede.

The ride was a milestone for Pacheco – the 300^th qualified PBR ride of his career. Pacheco is the 21^st athlete in the sport’s history to reach the 300-ride mark.

The second frame showcased a battle of veterans as Marcus Mast (Middlebury, Indiana) of the Outlaws prepared to face off with Ryan Dirteater (Hulbert, Oklahoma) from Nashville. As the first of the two, Mast blew from the chutes aboard Oilfield Outlaw’s Yellow Feather (Chad Berger/ Oilfield Outlaw’s Bucking Bulls) for 86.5 points. Dirteater was no match for Hostage (Hale/ Wood), failing to put points on the board. Kanas City led 168-86.75 at the end of two frames.

On the heels of a scoreless third frame, Joao Lucas (Bastos, Brazil) put Nashville in the lead in the fourth after his pairing with High Times (Ty Rinaldo TZ Bucking Bulls) added 85.25 points to the board, giving the Stampede a four-point lead at 172-168.

2022 PBR Rookie of the Year Bob Mitchell (Steelville, Missouri) was in the hot seat at the top of the fifth for the Outlaws but was bucked off Wasted Nights (Hale Cattle Co) in a mere 2.17 seconds. After the Outlaws’ Koltin Hevalow (Smithville, Missouri) was called for a slap at 6.94 seconds on his re-ride opportunity, Nashville secured the much-needed win by four points.

Despite three-time PBR world champion Silvano Alves (Pilar do Sul, Brazil) coming down short of the 8 as the last ride of the game, the Stampede won their fifth game of the season to improve to  5-19-1.

Nashville, who arrived in Arizona in the last-place seed in the standings, will try to win two games in a row for the first time this season on Saturday, Oct. 15 when they go up against the Oklahoma Freedom (0-1 | 15-11). The Kansas City Outlaws will look to rebound during the second round of games when they play the Austin Gamblers (1-0 | 14-12).

PBR’s Ridge Rider Days continues Saturday, October 14 at 6:45 p.m. MST. Tickets are still available and can be purchased online at Ticketmaster.com and PBR.com, at the Desert Diamond Arena (formerly Gila River Arena) Box Office, or by calling PBR customer service at 1-800-732-1727.

PBR RidePass on Pluto TV will offer replays of all the PBR Team Series action from Glendale. Check https://pluto.tv/en/live-tv/pbr-ridepass for the latest programming schedule.