Chasers lose 8-1 to Indy in weekend series opener

July 19, 2024 – International League (IL)
Omaha Storm Chasers Press Release

PAPILLION, NEB. – The Omaha Storm Chasers lost the first of a three-game losing streak at Werner Park on Friday, 8-1 to the Indianapolis Indians.

As the two teams returned from the All-Star break, the Indians got on the board first in the top of the second inning with three straight baserunners to lead off the inning, capped off by an RBI single for a 1-0 Indy lead. Omaha immediately answered back in the bottom of the second when Tyler Gentry hit his 8th home run of the season to tie the game at 1-1.

Indianapolis struck again in the top of the third inning with a series of home runs, a two-run homer and a solo for a 4-1 lead over Omaha, a lead the Indians never relinquished. The Chasers never got on the board again for the rest of the night, collecting five hits the rest of the way.

Starting pitcher Anthony Veneziano threw 5.0 innings and struck out five batters, but gave up four runs and seven hits in the losing game.

Behind Veneziano, four Omaha pitchers each pitched an inning, but the Indians doubled their run total in the bottom half of the game. Jonathan Bowlan pitched the top of the sixth inning and worked a scoreless frame, but Noah Murdock surrendered a pair of runs in the top of the seventh. After getting the first two outs, Murdock allowed four straight runs to reach the plate, with Seth Beer knocking in two to extend Indy’s lead to 6-1. Austin Cox followed Murdock, allowing a leadoff double in the eighth inning, but struck out the next three runs, with a pair of strikeouts to get out of the inning.

Will Klein came on for Omaha in the ninth inning and surrendered two more runs, on a solo home run and an RBI single, but also struck out two batters to end the inning.

After Gentry’s home run, the Storm Chasers struggled to get going. They had five hits and four base hits, with the batter hitting one batter. However, they also left ten runners on base.

allowed two runs to extend the lead to 8-1 in favor of the Indians. Gentry collected two hits in the loss, while Nick Pratto and Ryan Fitzgerald each drew two walks.

The Storm Chasers continue this weekend’s series against the Indians on Saturday, July 20 with first pitch at 6:05 p.m. CT on Saturday, with Chandler Champlain scheduled to start for Omaha.

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