ST. PAUL, MINN. – The Omaha Storm Chasers (33-41) forced a series split with the St. Paul Saints (42-32) on Sunday afternoon, rallying from a 5-run deficit to win 15-12 in 11 innings at CHS Field. Abraham Toro hit for the cycle and drove in 6 runs, while Matthew Lugo went 4-for-7 with a home run, and Brandon Drury added 4 hits and 3 RBI.
St. Paul got on the board first when Alan Roden led off the bottom of the 1st inning with a solo home run off Omaha starter Andrew Pérez. The Storm Chasers answered in the top of the 2nd inning with 3 runs on 3 consecutive 2-out hits. Drew Waters plated the first with an RBI single, Brandon Drury followed with an RBI double, and Elih Marrero added a two-out RBI double to put Omaha ahead 3-1.
The Storm Chasers extended the lead in the 3rd inning when Toro tripled and scored on a Peyton Wilson RBI double, making it 4-1. Drury then led off the top of the 4th inning with a solo home run, his 2nd of the week, pushing Omaha’s lead to 5-1.
St. Paul erased the deficit in the bottom of the 4th, erupting for 9 runs off relievers Aaron Sanchez and Ethan Bosacker to surge ahead 10-5.
Omaha refused to go quietly in the top of the 5th inning. Lugo led off with a solo home run, his 6th of the season, and Toro followed two batters later with a two-run shot to left center – his 10th home run of the year – to pull the Storm Chasers within 2 runs, 10-8.
With the Saints still holding a 10-8 advantage heading into the 8th, the Storm Chasers rallied to send 7 batters to the plate and score 3 runs. Marrero, Lugo and Brett Squires each singled to load the bases, and Toro unloaded them with a 3-run double to right field – completing the cycle in the process – to give Omaha an 11-10 lead. Alan Roden answered with a solo home run off Dan Altavilla in the bottom half to knot the score at 11.
Mason Black worked a scoreless 9th inning to keep the game even, and in the top of the 10th, Toro came through once more, singling home Marrero from third base to give Omaha a 12-11 lead. Eli Morgan (2-0) walked home the tying run with the bases loaded in the bottom of the 10th, sending the game to the 11th tied at 12.
With Peyton Wilson beginning the 11th at second base, he stole third base then scored the go-ahead run on a Drury single to make it 13-12. Marrero followed with a single, and Josh Rojas connected on a 2-run double that extended the lead to 15-12.
Eric Cerantola then made quick work of the Saints in the bottom of the 11th, striking out a pair in a 1-2-3 inning to secure the 3-run win and earn his 9th save of the year.
Toro’s 6 RBI led a Storm Chasers offense that collected a season-high 15 runs on a season-high 24 hits, with all 9 hitters in the lineup recording a hit. Toro’s cycle was the 6th in modern Omaha history (since 2005), after Drew Waters and MJ Melendez both hit for the cycle last season for the Storm Chasers.
The Storm Chasers return home to Werner Park to begin a two-homestand with first pitch on Tuesday against the Columbus Clippers scheduled for 7:05 P.M. CT.