The Omaha Storm Chasers ended their franchise-record scoreless innings streak and salvaged a doubleheader split against the Columbus Clippers on Thursday at Huntington Park. After dropping the opener 3-0, extending their scoreless streak to 25 innings, Omaha bounced back with a 5-4 victory in the nightcap.
In game one, the Clippers capitalized on a bases-loaded situation in the third inning, scoring two runs on sacrifice flies by Myles Straw and Kyle Manzardo. Columbus added an insurance run in the sixth on a wild pitch. The Storm Chasers threatened in the sixth, loading the bases on a Nate Eaton single and walks by Brian O’Keefe and Cam Devanney, but failed to score.
Omaha’s fortunes changed in game two, as they quickly snapped the scoreless streak in the first inning. Tyler Tolbert walked, Tyler Gentry singled, and CJ Alexander drove in Tolbert with an RBI single. Devin Mann led off the second with a solo home run, extending the lead to 2-0. The Chasers added another run in the fourth on an RBI single by Nick Pratto.
Starter Luis Cessa lasted just two innings, but reliever Walter Pennington followed with three hitless and scoreless frames, striking out three. Columbus rallied in the sixth, tying the game on a two-run triple by Micah Pries, who later scored on a groundout to give the Clippers a 4-3 lead.
Down to their final out in the seventh, the Storm Chasers mounted a comeback. After Pratto walked and two strikeouts, Logan Porter launched a go-ahead two-run homer to left field. Will Klein worked around a walk in the bottom of the inning, sealing the 5-4 win and earning his first save of the season.
“It was huge for us to break that scoreless streak early in game two,” said Storm Chasers manager Mike Jirschele. “The guys showed a lot of fight, especially Logan [Porter] coming through with that big home run. Splitting the doubleheader gives us some momentum heading into the rest of the series.”
The Storm Chasers (3-3) continue their six-game series against the Clippers (3-3) on Friday at 5:15 p.m. CT. Right-hander Andrew Hoffmann is expected to start for Omaha.
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