Hernandez Hurls Chasers To 3-1 Win

Omaha starting pitcher Arnaldo Hernandez retired 22 of the final 25 batters faced in a nine-inning complete game victory as center fielder Billy Burns clubbed three hits and first baseman Frank Schwindel smacked his Pacific Coast League leading thirty second double in the Storm Chasers' 3-1 triumph over the Oklahoma City Dodgers on Wednesday night at Werner Park.

Hernandez (9.0 IP, 5 H, R, ER, 0 BB, 6 K) fired the first nine-inning complete game by an Omaha pitcher since Aaron Brooks' stellar two-hit shutout performance in Game 4 of the 2014 Pacific Coast League Championship Series against the Reno Aces at Werner Park. It was also the first nine-inning complete game thrown in Hernandez's career, finishing with 97 pitches, including an outstanding 80 strikes.
Oklahoma City starter Kyle Lobstein (5.0 IP, 7 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 4 BB, 3 K) suffered the defeat to fall to 0-4. Creighton alum Pat Venditte (1.0 IP, H) tossed a scoreless ninth frame, an inning that at one point featured three different Bluejay alums on the field at once with Venditte joined by Storm Chasers 2B Nicky Lopez and Dodgers 2B Jake Peter .
Schwindel smashed the first of his two knocks in the opening frame, driving in Burns with an RBI single to left to give Omaha the 1-0 advantage. Oklahoma City evened the game at one in the top of the second, however from that point on Hernandez flourished. The Storm Chasers grabbed the lead for good courtesy of Burns' run-scoring single to center in the fourth, with SS Jack Lopez adding insurance by crushing his eighth big fly of the season, a solo shot, in the sixth.
Burns (3-4, R, RBI) and Schwindel (2-3, 2B, RBI) were the only Omaha batters to record multi-hit efforts in the victory, while Oklahoma City 3B Kyle Farmer (3-3, R) collected three of his team's five knocks. Schwindel ripped his league-leading 32nd double of 2018 in the fourth, placing him five two-baggers away from matching the Omaha franchise's single-season doubles record of 37.
The Storm Chasers will try for the series victory in Thursday night's finale, with first pitch scheduled for 7:05 p.m. CT. Omaha is expected to send LHP Jake Kalish (5-5, 3.39) to the hill, with the Dodgers set to give the ball to RHP Logan Bawcom (1-2, 5.91).
Tickets are still available for all remaining 2018 Storm Chasers contests, and may be purchased at www.omahastormchasers.com/tickets as well as by calling the Werner Park Ticket Office at (402) 738-5100. To view Ticket Office hours, please click here.