Reno Power Surge Finishes Off Sweep of Storm Chasers

Reno, NV - Garrett Weber hit two of Reno's four home runs in support of eight strong innings from Charles Brewer in a 5-2 vanquishing of Omaha Wednesday night in the last of four meetings at Aces Ballpark. The Storm Chasers were swept in the series to return home 71-67 and two games behind Oklahoma City, which finished off a four-game sweep of Albuquerque, in the American Conference North Division with five games remaining in the regular season. Omaha dropped six out of eight in Tacoma and Reno and finished the regular season with a 37-35 road record.

The Storm Chasers manufactured a pair of runs in the third inning to get the scoring started. Pedro Ciriaco opened the frame with a single, moved to second base on a ground out, to third on an infield hit by Whit Merrifield and scored on a Paulo Orlando ground out that also advanced Merrifield to second. Johnny Giavotella followed with a base hit to drive in Merrifield but that would be it for the visitors. From that point forward, Brewer was dominant, as he set down the last 15 batters he faced and wound up striking out a season-best 10 en route to the victory. Bo Schultz was brought on to open the ninth and retired the two hitters he encountered before giving way to Joe Paterson, who struck out Carlos Peguero to end the game. Reno improved to 68-1 when leading after seven innings and now must win four of five over Sacramento to claim the Pacific Conference North in a head-to-head showdown with the division leaders.

Andy Ferguson had blanked the hosts on one single through 3 2/3 innings in his Triple-A debut before Mike Jacobs, Weber and Roger Kieschnick belted solo shots over the span of four pitches to make it a 3-2 game. It was the second time this season three straight Aces hitters had hit home runs. The right-hander settled down to retire the next seven batters he faced before Weber struck again, leading off the seventh with his second long ball of the night to extend the Reno lead to two. Ferguson lasted seven innings and suffered the loss after he allowed five hits, walked one and struck out two. Tim Collins took over in the eighth, making his first appearance in 19 days after suffering from a back injury, and yielded a two-out run-scoring hit to Jacobs that accounted for the final margin.

Omaha will send right-hander Aaron Brooks to the mound Thursday night in the last regular season series opener against Colorado Springs left-hander Yohan Flande. Coverage of the game begins at 6:45 pm and can be heard locally on 1180 Zone 2 The Deuce and online at omahastormchasers.com.