Cancel gives Omaha walk-off win over St. Paul

PAPILLION, Neb. – The Omaha Storm Chasers (18-19) walked off an 8-7 win over the St. Paul Saints (15-21), handing St. Paul their 10th consecutive loss.

Omaha would waste little time in the first, getting on the board with no outs. LF Dairon Blanco walked to start the Storm Chasers half of the inning and 1B Nick Pratto hit a double to deep right-center field to put runners at second and third. A wild pitch scored Blanco and moved Pratto to third before a walk from 3B Gabriel Cancel put runners at the corners with nobody out.

Another wild pitch would score Pratto while Cancel stole second base. DH Vinnie Pasquantino singled to score Cancel and RF Brewer Hicklen drew a walk before a strikeout and double play ended the first with Omaha in front 3-0.

With two away in the third, Hicklen hit his second homer in as many days to push the Storm Chasers lead to 4-0 through three.

The St. Paul Saints got a couple of runs back in the fourth, but Omaha came right back in the bottom of the frame, this time off a CF JaCoby Jones homer with one out to put the lead at 5-2 after four.

Hicklen would make his third appearance on the bases for Omaha in the sixth, scoring from second on a wild pitch the got away from the St. Paul catcher.

The Saints put up a tally in the seventh and three runs in the eighth to take a 7-6 lead into the bottom of the eighth. Pasquantino hit a double into left field to start Omaha’s half of the frame, scoring on a single from 2B Clay Dungan to knot the score at 7-7 through eight.

The score stayed knotted up, sending the game into extra innings. RHP Andrés Sotillet (Win, 1-0) struck out the side in the tenth, stranding the runner at second. Pratto was the placed-runner for Omaha and Cancel hit a single sharply into centerfield to give Omaha the walk-off 8-7 win.

The Storm Chasers to continue their series against the St. Paul Saints with game three-of-six on Dollar Beer Night Thursday, with select Budweiser and Pepsi products just one dollar each. First pitch is scheduled for 6:35 from Werner Park with coverage beginning at 6:15 p.m. with the Sarpy County Tourism Pregame Show on 1180 The Zone.

The full 2022 schedule can be found here and single-game tickets are now available here.

For more tickets and more information, please visit omahastormchasers.com, call the Werner Park Ticket office at (402) 738-5100, and follow the team on social media. You can follow the team on Twitter @omastormchasers, on Instagram @omahastormchasers, and “like” the team on Facebook at facebook.com/omahastormchasers.