Chasers drop series finale to I-Cubs

DES MOINES, IOWA -- Despite a season-high eight strikeouts from left-hander Marcelo Martinez and three RBIs from first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino, the Omaha Storm Chasers lost to the Iowa Cubs, 6-5, on Sunday at Principal Park. It was the second straight series loss for Omaha (31-33) against Iowa (30-35), falling to 3-9 overall against the I-Cubs this season.

The Storm Chasers jumped out to a 1-0 lead against the I-Cubs in the first inning when singles from shortstop Iván Castillo and outfielder Nate Eaton put runners on the corners with one out. Pasquantino followed with an RBI groundout to plate the game's first run.

Omaha added four more runs on four hits in the third inning to extend the lead to 5-0. After second baseman Angelo Castellano led off with a walk and Castillo was hit by a pitch, outfielder Edward Olivares laced an RBI double to bring in Castellano and put runners on second and third. Eaton followed with an RBI single, and Pasquantino kept the rally going with a two-run single back up the middle.

Pasquantino finished the game 2-for-4 with three RBIs, giving him 63 total RBIs on the season. His 63 RBIs are the most in Minor League Baseball and tied with Pete Alonso (NYM) for the most in affiliated baseball.

Eaton recorded one of the Storm Chasers' two hits after the third inning, a leadoff double in the fifth. He extended his hitting streak to 10 games and finished the game 3-for-4 with a double and an RBI.

Left-hander Marcelo Martinez allowed his first run in the third inning on an RBI groudout by David Bote, but rebounded to strike out back-to-back batters to end the inning. He returned to the mound in the fourth and struck out the side—therefore striking out five consecutive batters—to record a season-best eight strikeouts. Martinez allowed three straight hits to begin the fifth inning, including an RBI double by Bote, before the I-Cubs plated two more runs on RBI groundouts to cut the Storm Chasers' lead to 5-4.

Iowa tied the game in the sixth against right-hander Ronald Bolaños on a run-scoring double play before taking the lead in the seventh against left-hander Josh Dye (Loss, 3-2), when Bote lined an RBI double into the right-field corner to bring in Darius Hill as the go-ahead run.

After Michael Rucker (Win, 1-0) threw 1.2 innings of scoreless relief for Iowa, right-hander Ben Leeper (Save, 3) entered in the ninth and retired the side in order.

The Storm Chasers return to Werner Park on Tuesday to begin a six-game series against the Columbus Clippers. First pitch is slated for 12:05 p.m. and coverage beings at 11:45 a.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.