Fermin hits two-run blast in the ninth, but Chasers fall to Bats

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The Omaha Storm Chasers (52-60) dropped game two 4-3 to the Louisville Bats (48-65). The Bats now lead the series 2-0 and the season series is tied 7-7.

Omaha juiced the bases with nobody out in the first, scoring a run on no hits. Right fielder Brewer Hicklen walked to load the bases before left fielder Dairon Blanco hit a sacrifice fly to make the score 1-0 in the first. Hicklen’s walk extends his on-base streak to 20 games, now the second player for Omaha to hit the 20-game on-base streak benchmark this season.

Right-hander Daniel Mengden gave up a leadoff walk in both the second and third innings, forcing the next batter to ground into a double play to clear the basepaths each time.

Mengden got two outs in the sixth inning, but with the tying run on second base, the Storm Chasers put left-hander Gabe Speier on the mound. Speier struck out the only batter he faced in the inning, now having stranded each of his first three inherited runners at the Triple-A level this season.

With the score still at 1-0 in favor of the Storm Chasers, The Bats loaded the bases on a hit batter and a pair of ground ball singles. Left-hander Anthony Misiewicz came in with the bases loaded, striking out the first Louisville batter before Stuart Fairchild hit a sacrifice fly to knot the score at 1-1 heading to the ninth.

Catcher Freddy Fermin hit his seventh home run of the season in the top of the ninth inning, scoring Hicklen who was hit by a pitch to start the inning and retake the lead 3-1.

After a pair of singles, Isiah Gilliam hit a three-run shot over the left field wall to give the Bats the 4-3 walk-off win.

Omaha and Louisville will play game three on Thursday with first pitch scheduled for 5:35 p.m. CDT. Coverage is set to start at 5:15 p.m. on the Sarpy County Tourism Pregame Show on 1180 The Zone. The Storm Chasers are set to send left-hander Drew Parrish (3-6, 5.26) to the mound while the Bats look to start Justin Nicolino.

After this series, the Chasers return home for a six-game set against Scranton/Wilkes-Barre starting on August 23. The week is full of exciting events like Bro Tank Giveaway on Saturday the 27th and Imaginary Friend Day on Sunday the 28th.

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.