Pratto Homers Twice as Chasers Drop 2nd Straight to Louisville 

PAPILLION, NEB. – The Omaha Storm Chasers and Louisville Bats combined for 29 hits, eight of them home runs, but the Chasers dropped a second straight game in a 12-7 loss to the Bats.

The two teams traded two-run first innings, as the Bats led off the game with a solo homer and added another on the third batter of the game, putting Omaha in an early 2-0 hole.

Nick Pratto promptly tied the game up in the bottom of the first, with a two-run homer, his first of two homers in the day.

Louisville knocked Storm Chasers starter Andrew Hoffmann out in the fifth inning, adding one run in the second, one in the third and three in the fifth, as Hoffmann set career-highs in hits allowed (10), runs allowed (7) and home runs allowed (4).

Pratto kept Omaha within striking distance, adding a three-run blast in the bottom of the fifth that countered what Louisville did in the top half, the rehabber’s fifth career multi-homer game.

The Bats added two more runs in the top of the sixth, off relivers Brett de Geus and Taylor Hearn. Dylan Coleman surrendered three more in the eighth inning on Henry Ramos’ second home run of the night and Louisville’s fifth as a team.

After Jonathan Heasley threw a scoreless top of the ninth inning, Omaha entered the bottom of the ninth trailing by seven runs and after a leadoff walk by Clay Dungan, Bubba Thompson connected on a two-run homer, Omaha’s third of the game and his third with the Chasers this season. Tyler Gentry added a one-out double to extend his hit streak to seven games, but Omaha couldn’t add any more and fell by five runs, losing 12-7.

Dungan, Thompson and Pratto each offered two-hit games out of the top three spots in Omaha’s lineup, while the offense as a whole combined for seven extra-base hits.

The Storm Chasers will try to bounce back Saturday at 6:35 p.m. CT with right-hander Max Castillo on the mound for Omaha.