PAPILLION, NEB. – The Omaha Storm Chasers evened the series against Iowa with a 6-2 win Wednesday at Werner Park.
Neither team scored across the first three innings of the game, with four combined hits – three from Omaha. The I-Cubs got on the board first as Moises Ballesteros struck a solo homer to right center field off Omaha starting pitcher Noah Cameron and Iowa took a 1-0 lead in the top of the fourth inning.
Cameron worked yet another stellar outing in his second start with the Chasers as he tossed 6.0 one-run innings, with seven strikeouts and no walks, for his second Triple-A quality start in as many appearances at the level. Through his first two games with Omaha, the left-hander has struck out 17 with 0 walks over 12.2 innings.
Chandler Champlain followed Cameron and pitched a 1-2-3 seventh inning to maintain the one-run deficit for Omaha. The Storm Chasers surged ahead in the bottom of the inning, tagging Iowa for six runs to jump out to a 6-1 lead the team held on to the rest of the night.
Nelson Velasquez led off the bottom of the seventh inning with a walk. He was replaced by pinch-runner Nate Eaton, who stole second and scored the game-tying run on a double from Nick Pratto.
Rodolfo Durán added a single and put runners at the corners which set up Cam Devanney to lay down a sacrifice bunt and score Pratto on the squeeze play. Two at-bats later, Drew Waters was hit by a pitch to loaded the bases for Nick Loftin, who promptly cleared them with a double his 10th double of the season and crossed Waters, Devanney and Duran for a 5-1 lead. Tyler Gentry knocked in Loftin from second off the team’s fourth hit of the frame and increased the lead to 6-1.
Iowa plated its second run of the night as Kevin Alcantara hit solo home run off Champlain to cut into Omaha’s lead 6-2 in the top of the eighth inning.
Carlos Hernandez entered the mound for Omaha in the top of the ninth inning and fired a 1-2-3 inning as he closed out the game for a 6-2 win for the Chasers.
The Storm Chasers continue this week’s series against the Cubs at Werner Park on Thursday, August 8 as first pitch is slated to start at 7:05 p.m. CT and left-handed pitcher Daniel Lynch IV will get the start for Omaha.
