PAPILLION, NEB. – A quality start and timely hitting led the way for the Omaha Storm to secure a series win, with a 7-3 victory against the Iowa Cubs on Wednesday in front of 9.313 fans, the largest crowd in Werner Park history.
For the third straight night, the I-Cubs struck first as they plated a pair in the top of the second inning on a two-run homer off the bat of Jake Hager for a 2-0 Iowa lead. The Chasers answered Iowa’s runs in the bottom half of the frame as Ryan Fitzgerald and Cam Devanney hit back-to-back doubles with Devanney doubling in Fitzgerald to cut the Cubs lead to 2-1.
Still down a run entering the bottom of the fourth, the Chasers leapt ahead by scoring in three straight innings. In the fourth, Nelson Velázquez led off the frame with a single. Two at-bats later, Fitzgerald singled to put runners at the corners which set up Devanney to drill his 12th homer of the season to left field, a three-shut shot as the Chasers took a 4-2 lead, the team’s first lead of the night.
In the bottom of the fifth inning, Nick Pratto crushed a solo shot to right center field, his 12th of the season, to extend the lead to 5-2. Then, Austin Nola hit his fourth homer to left field to open the bottom of the sixth and grow the lead to 6-2 at the end of six innings.
Starting pitcher Jonathan Bowlan logged his fourth quality start of the season and earned his seventh win, as he allowed just two runs over 6.0 innings and struck out six.
Bowlan was replaced by Kris Bubic in the top of the seventh inning and Bubic retired all six batters he faced, pitching two scoreless innings with a pair of strikeouts.
Nola added a run of insurance in the bottom of the eighth for Omaha as Devanney drew a walk and scored from second on a single from Nola for a 7-2 Storm Chasers lead.
Iowa answered with a run in the top of the ninth inning off Colin Selby and cut the lead to 7-3 which ended as the final score in favor of Omaha.
The Storm Chasers shift the series for a three-game set in Des Moines against the Cubs Thursday, July 4, Independence Day as first pitch is at 7:08 p.m. CT and left-hander Daniel Lynch IV takes the mound for Omaha.
