PAPILLION, NEB.- The Omaha Storm Chasers swept the Toledo Mud Hens in a doubleheader Friday night as they took the first game 5-2 and then followed with a 6-2 win in eight innings at Fifth Third Field.
GAME 1: OMAHA 5, TOLEDO 2 (FINAL/7)
In the first game of the doubleheader, the Chasers got on the board fast in the top of the first inning as back-to-back singles by Nate Eaton and CJ Alexander put runners at the corners. Eaton scored from third on a wild pitch, then, Brian O’Keefe crushed a two-out double to drive Alexander home for a 2-0 lead.
The Mud Hens worked onto the scoreboard in the bottom of the second inning as runners on second and third base scored on a two-run single from Andrew Navigato to tie the score at 2-2.
Omaha’s starting pitcher and Major League rehabber Kris Bubic worked 4.0 innings with a season-high 84 pitches and struck out three batters as he allowed just the two runs. Noah Murdock worked behind Bubic, his second appearance in this week’s series, throwing two scoreless frames with a strikeout, including a 1-2-3 fifth inning.
Both offenses struggled to score in the middle innings as the two teams combined to muster just five hits between the third and sixth innings.
Omaha’s bats woke up in the seventh, as Austin Nola opened the frame with a double, then after Eaton singled and stole second, the two scored on a two-run single off the bat of Devin Mann to retake the lead for the Chasers. O’Keefe followed with his third hit of the game, an RBI double to score Mann for a 5-2 Storm Chasers lead.
Murdock’s two scoreless innings featured one strikeout as he earned his first Triple-A win. Carlos Hernández entered the game in the bottom of the seventh inning and allowed a pair of hits with two outs, but a strong throw from Eaton to home retired Parker Meadows trying to score and ended to earn Hernández his fourth save of the season.
GAME 2: OMAHA 6, TOLEDO 2 (FINAL/8)
As the second game of the doubleheader was under way, the two pitching staffs combined to retired 15 of the game’s first 16 batters combined in the first three innings but the game remained tied 0-0 into the fourth.
Center fielder John Rave led off the top of the fourth inning with a solo homer for a 1-0 lead, his 10th of the season to tie for the team lead.
Omaha carried the one-run lead into the bottom of the fifth, and Chasers starting pitcher Jonathan Bowlan worked 4.1 innings to open his outing before the Mud Hens answered back with a two-run double from Andrew Navigato to take a 2-1 lead.
The Storm Chasers quickly answered with four straight singles to load the bases and tie the game in the top of the sixth inning. Devin Mann had the fourth of the four singles, as he drove in Rave to tie the game 2-2 but Omaha left the bases loaded, unable to take a lead.
Bowlan finished his night with seven strikeouts over 5.0 innings, giving way for reliever Steven Cruz to enter the game in the bottom of the sixth inning. Cruz worked a 1-2-3 inning to retire the side in the bottom of the sixth and got the first two outs in the bottom of the seventh, after the Chasers were retired 1-2-3 in the top of the frame. After a single opened the bottom of the seventh, Tyler Gentry caught a fly ball on the warning track for the first out of the inning, then fired a throw back to first base to double off the runner and record the second out. Cruz allowed a two-out single and handled the ball off to Evan Sisk, who stranded the inherited runner and send the seven-inning game into extras.
The Storm Chasers promptly took a commanding lead in the eighth, scoring with four runs to put the game out of reach. Nate Eaton started the damage as he smashed his second hit of the game, a double down the line to plate the placed runner Cam Devanney and give Omaha the lead back.
CJ Alexander followed with a double to drive in Eaton, then Brian O’Keefe doubled in Alexander with two outs and Josh Lester singled in O’Keefe with a line drive up the middle for his first hit with the Chasers to give Omaha a 6-2 lead.
Will Klein took over on the mound in the bottom of the eighth inning and walked a pair to load the bases but left stranded all three runners on base to secure Omaha’s second win of the day and third straight in the series.
The Storm Chasers continue this week’s road series against the Toledo Mud Hens as game five is Saturday, June 15 at Fifth Third Field with first pitch scheduled for 6:05 p.m. CT.
