PAPILLION, NEB. — The Omaha Storm Chasers’ six-game winning streak came to an end Wednesday afternoon with a 6-5 loss in 10 innings to the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp 6-5 Wednesday at Werner Park.
The Storm Chasers started the scoring in the bottom of the second inning as Nate Eaton homered for the second straight game, a solo shot to left field for a 1-0 Omaha lead.
Jacksonville had a quick counter and did not trail for long, as Griffin Conine led off the third inning with a game-tying home run, then two more homers in the fourth inning gave the Jumbo Shrimp a 4-1 lead.
Nick Pratto brought the Chasers a run closer in the bottom of the fourth inning with his sixth home run of the year, a solo shot that stretched his hitting streak to seven games and cut Jacksonville’s lead down 4-2.
While he surrendered his first three home runs of the season, Omaha starting pitcher William Fleming retired his final five hitters, including a 1-2-3 fifth inning to complete 5.0 innings for the second straight start, allowing four runs on six hits with two strikeouts.
After Omaha got within two runs, the next few innings were quiet as both teams mustered just three walks combined through innings 5-7 without scoring a run.
Behind Fleming, Storm Chaser relievers Austin Cox, Jake Brentz, John McMillon, and Sam Long each offered a scoreless innings and combined for five strikeouts, holding the Jumbo Shrimp to two hits from the sixth inning through the ninth. Brentz and McMillon pitched 1-2-3 seventh and eighth innings, respectively, their first perfect innings of the season.
Down by two going to the bottom of the eighth, Omaha closed the deficit as Nick Loftin doubled in Cam Devanney, then Pratto singled in Loftin to tie the score at 4-4.
Omaha was put away quietly in the bottom of the ninth and Walter Pennington took over for the 10th inning, but Jacksonville’s Victor Mesa Jr. hit a home run to right center field on the first pitch he saw, a two-run shot that scored the placed runner for a 6-4 Jumbo Shrimp lead. Pennington limited the damage to just the two runs (one earned) over his inning of work.
Omaha had one last breath in the bottom of the 10th inning as a walk and a hit by pitch loaded the bases with no outs. With one out, Pratto hit a sacrifice fly and drove in his third run of the game to plate Brian O’Keefe and cut the deficit down to 6-5 which held as the final score and the Chasers stranded the tying and winning runs on base.
The Storm Chasers continue this week’s series against the Jumbo Shrimp Thursday, May 9 at Werner Park with a 6:35 p.m. CT as right-handed pitcher Luis Cessa takes the mound for Omaha.
