Aviators Best Chasers 6-5
Omaha designated hitter Nick Heath drove in three runs and center fielder Brett Phillips crushed his eighteenth home run of the season, however Las Vegas left fielder Seth Brown and second baseman Franklin Barreto each homered while combining to drive in five runs as the Aviators topped the Storm Chasers
Omaha designated hitter Nick Heath drove in three runs and center fielder Brett Phillips crushed his eighteenth home run of the season, however Las Vegas left fielder Seth Brown and second baseman Franklin Barreto each homered while combining to drive in five runs as the Aviators topped the Storm Chasers 6-5 on Saturday evening at Werner Park.
After Las Vegas plated single tallies in the first and second frames, Omaha cut that deficit to one courtesy of 3B
Omaha later evened the contest with a two-run seventh, with Heath driving in his third run via an RBI groundout prior to Phillips' game-tying solo homer to center. Las Vegas immediately answered, though, as Barreto bashed an opposite-field solo homer to right to put the Aviators back in front for good at 6-5.
Heath (2-5, R, HR, 3 RBI), Gutierrez and SS Erick Mejia (2-4, R) all tallied multi-hit efforts for the Storm Chasers. Barreto (2-4, 2 R, HR, 3 RBI, BB) and Brown (2-4, R, HR, 2 RBI, BB) were joined by 1B Eric Campbell (2-3, 2 BB) in posting two knocks apiece. Phillips' longball was his 18th of the year with Omaha, putting him two longballs away from becoming the fourth player in franchise history to record 20 home runs and 20 steals in a season.
Las Vegas southpaw A.J. Puk (1.1 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 2 ER, BB, 3 K) earned the win in support of starter Daniel Mengden (5.0 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 3 ER, BB, 3 K). Omaha reliever Ofreidy Gomez (3.0 IP, 4 H, R, ER, 2 BB, 4 K), meanwhile, suffered the defeat in his Triple-A debut.
The two teams are set to continue their four-game set on Sunday evening, with first pitch scheduled for 5:05pm CT.
Tickets for that game and all remaining Storm Chasers home contests can be purchased online at www.omahastormchasers.com, or by calling the Werner Park Ticket Office from noon until 6:00 p.m. Monday through Friday at (402) 738-5100.