Chasers Pocket Aces 12-11 In Ten

Heath smashes first Triple-A homer, Mejia drives in three

Omaha CF Nick Heath reached base five times and smashed his first Triple-A home run in the Storm Chasers' 12-11 win in ten innings on Sunday afternoon in Reno. (Minda Haas Kuhlmann)

August 4, 2019

Omaha center fielder Nick Heath collected three hits while reaching base five times, including his first Triple-A home run, while shortstop Erick Mejia drove in three runs and first baseman Kelvin Gutierrez added a solo blast of his own in the Storm Chasers' 12-11 extra-inning victory over the Reno Aces

Omaha center fielder Nick Heath collected three hits while reaching base five times, including his first Triple-A home run, while shortstop Erick Mejia drove in three runs and first baseman Kelvin Gutierrez added a solo blast of his own in the Storm Chasers' 12-11 extra-inning victory over the Reno Aces on Sunday afternoon at Greater Nevada Field.

Both teams combined for six runs in the first inning, including four from Omaha thanks in part to Mejia's two-run single and LF Jorge Bonifacio 's RBI knock. Mejia would then drive in his third run of the contest in the very next frame with a run-scoring single to left to increase the advantage to 5-2. After Reno evened the tilt with a three-run second, the Storm Chasers countered with a three-spot of their own in the third highlighted by RF Brett Phillips ' two-run knock.
After Reno again drew the match even at 9-9 in the seventh, Heath broke the draw with his solo shot to right one frame later, his first big fly at the Triple-A level, with Gutierrez adding his roundtripper in the subsequent inning to make it 11-9. The Aces, however, forced extra frames with a two-run ninth before Heath drove in his second run of the day with a sacrifice fly in the tenth.
Eight of the nine batters in Omaha's starting lineup collected a hit, including seven multi-hit efforts led by Heath's three knocks (3-3, 3 R, 2B, HR, 2 RBI, 2 BB). Reno LF Josh Rojas (4-6, 2 R HR, 3 RBI) posted a game-high four hits, with SS Ildemaro Vargas (3-6, RBI) and 1B Kevin Cron (2-4, 2 R, HR, 2 RBI, BB) adding two or more knocks.
Storm Chasers righty Jake Newberry (2.1 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER) earned the victory, while Aces reliever Michael Kohn (2.0 IP, 2 H, 2 R, ER, K) suffered the defeat.
The two teams are slated to complete their four-game series on Monday evening, with first pitch scheduled for 9:05pm CT.
Omaha returns home to Werner Park on Wednesday, August 7 to start a seven-game homestand. First pitch of the series opener versus the Salt Lake Bees is set for 7:05pm 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.