Pair of Chasers make an impact in their Omaha debuts

PAPILLION, Neb. – The Omaha Storm Chasers (49-51) took down the St. Paul Saints (49-51) 9-3. The Saints lead the series 2-1 while Omaha leads the season series 9-6.

Right-hander Jonathan Heasley needed just 12 pitches to put away the Saints in order in the first before shortstop Iván Castillo hit a one-out single in the bottom of the frame. Left fielder Brent Rooker drew a walk in his first at bat for Omaha after being traded from the Padres’ organization earlier in the week. The pair were stranded to leave the scoreboard still.

The Saints put a pair of guys on with one out in the second, but Omaha turned a double play to get out of the inning.

St. Paul used a leadoff double from Nash Knight to start the third before Heasley got three strikeouts to end the inning with a man in scoring position.

The Chasers came out in the third and put the first five men on base to open the scoring. Third baseman Jimmy Govern started the rally with a single before center fielder Drew Waters hit a single. Castillo hit a single that would put up the first run of the game and Rooker reached base for the second time in his first two plate appearances for Omaha with a base hit.

Right fielder Brewer Hicklen drew a walk to juice the bases and second baseman Clay Dungan hit his second triple of the season to plate three more Omaha runners and put the Chasers ahead 5-0 after three innings.

Matt Wallner started fourth with a double for a Saints, but Heasley again got out of the inning by retiring the next three St. Paul batters.

Waters hit a single in the fourth before Rooker hit a 438-foot homer to left field that came off the bat at 110 mph that gave Omaha a 7-0 lead.

Elliot Soto hit a homer the cut into the Storm Chasers lead and put the score at 7-1 in the fifth.

Heasley would go 4.2 innings, striking out eight in his first appearance since returning to Omaha. Left-hander Anthony Misiewicz (Win, 1-0) came in to finish the fifth in his first appearance with the Storm Chasers. Misiewicz went 1.1 innings with one strikeout and no walks.

Ronny Henriquez allowed the two runs in the fourth before keeping the Storm Chasers off the scoreboard in the fifth and sixth.

St. Paul put a rally together that plated another run for the Saints on a Knight single that made the score 7-2.

Rooker forced a leadoff walk in the seventh to put a man on base for Omaha for just the second time since the end of the fourth. Designated hitter Dairon Blanco hit a single to put runners on the corners with one out. Blanco stole second, his 25th of the season. Dungan hit into a fielder’s choice that retired Rooker and left runners at the corners with two outs. First baseman Gabriel Cancel hit a double that put Omaha ahead 9-2 after seventh inning.

Rooker would end the night 2-for-2 with a homer and two walks for a three-RBI night.

The Chasers and Saints are set to play game four on Friday. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. with coverage starting at 6:45 p.m. on the Sarpy County Tourism Pregame Show on 1180 The Zone.

Tomorrow is a Fireworks Fridays presented by Hy-Vee. Stick around postgame for a fireworks performance.

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.