Papillion, NE- The Toledo Mud Hens (21-21) fell at the Omaha Storm Chasers (19-22) on Thursday, May 14, now trailing 2-1 in the series. A bullpen heavy game on both sides, the Mud Hens used five pitchers in the contest and the Storm Chasers flipped through seven.
Second hitter, Max Clark, extended his first-inning hit streak to three games, landing safely on first before getting picked off mid dash to second. The inning ended scoreless for the Hens, while the home team struck first tonight. A standup double, sac fly, and RBI single put them on the board (1-0). Clark made a leaping grab to stop the lead from building.
The Hens didn’t allow the Storm Chasers to hold it too long; Jace Jung began inning two with a solo bomb over the walls for the tie, (1-1) then Corey Julks singled and Cal Stevenson followed with an RBI double for the quick go-ahead run. (1-2)
Omaha matched that RBI double to even the score again (2-2). Sawyer Gipson-Long had some pitching struggles which led to a bases-loaded run-scoring fielder’s choice (3-1) before a pop out ended the inning.
The opponent’s lead expanded with a two-run homer off pitcher, Konnor Pilkington, who followed Gipson-Long after his two frames. (5-2)
Bases loaded for two-out batter Clark presented Toledo with an opportunity to reclaim the lead, but a fly ball dropped into the glove of a Storm Chaser, shutting the door on the visitors.
In the fifth, a pair of singles followed by pitches that popped two different Hens at the plate narrowed the gap by one. (5-3) It then jumped back to three off another Storm Chaser solo shot. (6-3)
Failing to give in, Tyler Gentry and Luke Ritter tallied RBIs in the top half of the seventh, shrinking the deficit (6-5). Tanner Rainey came out of the bullpen in the bottom, striking out two to keep the one run difference.
The rally continued in the eighth. Julks drove a sharp one to the left for a late game-tying RBI single. (6-6) You could hear the sighs from the dugout as Gentry hit an over 400-yard near home run ball, that landed foul, before the offense retired from a groundout. The score stayed knotted heading into the final inning.
Ultimately, Omaha’s Kameron Misner walked off a second straight game, this time with a solo home run to left field.
The Hens hope to stay above .500 with a win in the next matchup. Game four of the series at Omaha is set for Friday, May 15, at 8:05p.m.
Notables
J. Jung – 3/3, 2R, HR, 1RBI, 2BB, 0K
T. Gentry – 1/3, 1R, 2RBI, 1BB, 0K
C. Julks – 2/5, 1R, 1RBI, 0K
C. Stevenson – 2/4, 1RBI