Since you requested another script to perform this action, I recommend PowerShell. As a simple test, I created an Excel document, SheetToRefresh.xlsx, which has a data connection to a simple xml file. However, the script below will work for any data source that the Excel document is connected to. I have tested this on my own machine, the data refresh and save persists, as expected.
RefreshExcel.ps1
#Set the file path (can be a network location)
$filePath = "C:\Scripts\SheetToRefresh.xlsx"
#Create the Excel Object
$excelObj = New-Object -ComObject Excel.Application
#Make Excel visible. Set to $false if you want this done in the background
$excelObj.Visible = $true
#Open the workbook
$workBook = $excelObj.Workbooks.Open($filePath)
#Focus on the top row of the "Data" worksheet
#Note: This is only for visibility, it does not affect the data refresh
$workSheet = $workBook.Sheets.Item("Data")
$workSheet.Select()
#Refresh all data in this workbook
$workBook.RefreshAll()
#Save any changes done by the refresh
$workBook.Save()
#Uncomment this line if you want Excel to close on its own
#$excelObj.Quit()