Stripers Routed 18-9 on Windy Night in Omaha

PAPILLION, Neb. – The Gwinnett Stripers (6-6) struck early for leads of 4-0 and 6-2, but the Omaha Storm Chasers (8-4) piled up 18 runs after the third inning on the way to an 18-9 victory on Thursday night at a windy Werner Park.

Decisive Plays: Andrew Velazquez lofted a wind-aided solo home run (2) to right field for a 1-0 lead in the top of the first, and RBI doubles by Alejo Lopez and Luke Williams helped extend the lead to 4-0 in the fourth. After Omaha scored twice against Dylan Dodd in the bottom of the fourth, Williams and Sandy Leon boosted the lead to 6-2 with a pair of RBI singles. Things got away from Gwinnett from there, with the Storm Chasers scoring three runs in the fifth, four in the sixth and seventh, and five in the eighth.

Key Contributors: Williams (3-for-5, double, 3 RBIs), Lopez (3-for-5, double, 2 RBIs), and Leon (3-for-4, 2 RBIs) combined to drive in seven of Gwinnett’s nine runs. Former Striper Drew Waters had a career night for Omaha, going 4-for-6 with two doubles, a grand slam (1), and seven RBIs.

Noteworthy: Leury Garcia went 2-for-6 to extend his hitting streak to seven games. He’s batting .444 (12-for-27, 2 doubles, 1 homer, 9 runs, 4 RBIs) on the streak. Catcher Ryan Casteel made his first career pitching appearance in the eighth, yielding five runs over 1.0 inning.

Next Game (**Fri**day, April 12**):* Gwinnett at Omaha, 7:35 p.m. ET at Werner Park. RHP *Darius Vines** (0-0, 3.75 ERA) for the Stripers vs. RHP Luis Cessa (0-0, 3.86 ERA) for the Storm Chasers. Broadcast: 7:20 p.m. ET on MyCountry993.com.

Next Home Game (Tuesday, April 16): Gwinnett vs. Memphis, 7:05 p.m. ET at Coolray Field. Broadcast: 6:50 p.m. ET on MyCountry993.com and Bally Live. It's T-Shirt Tuesday (presented by Coolray Heating & Cooling) at Coolray Field as the Stripers will give away limited edition green Stripers shirseys of former Gwinnett star and current Atlanta Braves third baseman Austin Riley.