Omaha steals franchise record eight bases but fall to St. Paul

July 1, 2022

St. Paul, Minn. – The Storm Chasers broke a franchise record with eight stolen bases and kept the Saints off the scoreboard for the first eight innings but fell just short on Friday. The Omaha Storm Chasers (36-38) gave up four runs in the bottom of the ninth as the

St. Paul, Minn. – The Storm Chasers broke a franchise record with eight stolen bases and kept the Saints off the scoreboard for the first eight innings but fell just short on Friday.

The Omaha Storm Chasers (36-38) gave up four runs in the bottom of the ninth as the St. Paul Saints (37-38) won 4-3 in walk-off fashion.

Left fielder Dairon Blanco started the game with a single hit sharply to the shortstop for an infield hit. Blanco advanced to second on a wild pitch to put a runner in scoring position with nobody out before stealing third to put a runner just 90 feet from home. Three consecutive strikeouts would end Omaha’s scoring chance with the scoreboard still empty.

Shortstop Iván Castillo drew a walk in the third and Blanco moved Castillo to second with a single. First baseman Nick Pratto hit a fielder’s choice that got Blanco out but moved Castillo to third. Right fielder Nate Eaton hit an RBI single to tally the game’s first run and give Omaha the early lead.

Castillo drew a walk in the top of the fifth before stealing second. Pratto hit an infield single to put runners on the corners. Pratto stole second to set up Eaton who recorded his second RBI hit, this time a two-RBI single and move Omaha’s lead to 3-0.

Leading off the sixth, second baseman Michael Massey extended his hit-streak to 12 games with an infield single. Massey stole second for Omaha’s sixth stolen base of the game. The Chasers would strand their fourth runner of the game to end the inning.

Left-hander Marcelo Martinez threw 5.2 no-hit innings before allowing a single to the Saints. In all, Martinez threw 5.2 innings, allowing no runs on just one hit and two walks with nine strikeouts.

Castillo would draw his third walk of the game with two away in the ninth before stealing his third base of the night. Omaha broke a franchise record, stealing eight bases in the game.

After retiring seven consecutive St. Paul batters, Omaha allowed a single and a homer to start the bottom of the ninth. After back-to-back doubles, the Saints tied the score with the potential winning run at second base.

The Storm Chasers gave up a walk and a single as the Saints took game four 4-3.

Omaha takes on St. Paul Saturday in game five. First pitch is scheduled for 6:07 p.m. with coverage beginning at 5:45 p.m. on the Sarpy County Tourism Pregame Show on 1180 The Zone. Tomorrow’s probable starter for the Storm Chasers is left-hander Carlos Hernández (1-4, 4.73) while the Saints send right-hander Ariel Jurado to the mound.

Omaha returns home to face off with the Toledo Mud Hens in a six-game series that starts on July 4. The game will feature Independence Day Fireworks presented by FNBO. The series also features Christmas in July on Saturday, July 9, presented by Valentino’s.

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.