Chasers Walk Off With Wild 11-10 Win

After turning a key twin-killing in the top of the ninth, Storm Chasers second baseman Jack Lopez crushed a walk-off home run to lead off to bottom of the ninth, Omaha's fourth home run of the evening after fifth-inning blasts from left fielder Ryan O'Hearn , catcher Cam Gallagher and shortstop Humberto Arteaga , in an 11-10 back-and-forth victory over the New Orleans Baby Cakes on Thursday evening at Werner Park.

Lopez's heroics in the ninth began on the field when he fielded a groundball up the middle, rushed to second and then fired on to first to complete the crucial double play to quell New Orleans' bases loaded threat. He then came to bat and crushed the second pitch of the at-bat for his second longball of the season to cue the celebration. The shot followed a trio of roundtrippers in the fifth, including back-to-back jacks from O'Hearn and Gallagher, that gave Omaha the 9-5 advantage.
New Orleans, however, came back to rally with a five-run spurt of their own in the top of the sixth to grab a 10-9 lead, aided by C Chad Wallach 's solo blast, in addition to run-scoring knocks courtesy of CF Magneuris Sierra and DH Tomás Telis . Gallagher two innings later then dropped a sacrifice bunt to bring across pinch runner Terrance Gore and even the contest at 10-10 before Lopez ended the game with his leadoff homer in the ninth.
Joining Lopez in recording three knocks were Arteaga (3-3, 2 R, HR, 3 RBI) and RF Paulo Orlando (3-5, 3 R, 2B), while O'Hearn also tallied two hits. All nine Omaha batters in the lineup recorded hits, and seven scored at least one run. Six Baby Cakes batters tallied multi-hit efforts, including Wallach (2-5, R, HR, 2 RBI), Telis (2-4, 2 RBI, BB) and 2B Cito Culver (2-4, 2 R, who all drove in two runs apiece.
Lopez's walk-off homer was the first by a Storm Chasers player since O'Hearn blasted a three-run shot on July 1, 2017 versus Colorado Springs. The four big flies were a season-high, with O'Hean and Gallagher's consecutive homers in the fifth marking the first time consecutive Omaha batters have gone deep this year.
Storm Chasers relievers Kevin Lenik (2.1 IP, H, BB, 2 K) and Mike Broadway (1.0 IP, 3 H) combined for the final 3.1 shutout frames, with Broadway earning the triumph. Neither Omaha starter Glenn Sparkman (5.0 IP, 7 H, 5 R, 5 ER, BB) nor New Orleans' Dillon Peters (4.0 IP, 9 H, 7 R, 7 ER, 2 BB, 2 K) factored in the final decisions. Baby Cakes reliever Jumbo Díaz suffered the defeat.
Following their series victory, the Storm Chasers continue their nine-day homestand by starting a five-game series versus the Round Rock Express beginning Friday evening at Werner Park. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05pm CT. RHP Trevor Oaks (2-3, 2.68) is anticipated to get the nod for Omaha, with Round Rock slated to send LHP David Hurlbut (1-3, 4.91) to the hill.
Tickets are still available for that game and all Storm Chasers contests throughout the 2018 season, and may be purchased at www.omahastormchasers.com/tickets as well as by calling the Werner Park Ticket Office at (402) 738-5100. To view Ticket Office hours, please click here.