Chasers Walk off Bats With Castellano Single
PAPILLION, NEB. – Despite struggles at the plate with runners in scoring position all night long, the Omaha Storm Chasers finally pulled ahead in the ninth inning Tuesday, as an Angelo Castellano walk-off single beat the Louisville Bats, 4-3. Starter Anthony Veneziano worked a 1-2-3 first inning, but ran into
PAPILLION, NEB. – Despite struggles at the plate with runners in scoring position all night long, the Omaha Storm Chasers finally pulled ahead in the ninth inning Tuesday, as an Angelo Castellano walk-off single beat the Louisville Bats, 4-3.
Starter Anthony Veneziano worked a 1-2-3 first inning, but ran into trouble in the second, as a trio of hits gave Louisville an early 3-0 lead.
The Storm Chasers responded swiftly in the bottom of the second, with catcher Logan Porter opening the frame with a solo homer, his 11th long ball of the year. Nate Eaton walked and found his way to third base on a steal and error, then scored on a groundout from Castellano to bring Omaha within one.
A trio of hits opened the bottom of the fifth for Omaha, starting with an 11-pitch at-bat from Nick Loftin that resulted in a single, followed by a Devin Mann double and RBI single from Tyler Gentry that tied the game at 3-3.
After the three-run second inning, Omaha’s pitching staff kept Louisville off the board the rest of the night. Veneziano loaded the bases but escaped a jam in the third inning and faced the minimum the rest of the way, over his final eight hitters.
Will Klein retired five of seven batters he faced, with a pair of strikeouts and no hits allowed, then Dylan Coleman threw two scoreless innings with just one hit, keeping the Bats off the board in the eighth and ninth innings.
Through the first eight innings, Omaha left 13 runners on base, including two runners on in six of the eight innings and three times left the go-ahead runner on third base.
Gentry and Porter opened the bottom of the ninth inning with back-to-back walks, but a pair of strikeouts that followed brought the game one out away from extras. The Storm Chasers started the night just 1-for-18 with runners in scoring position, but Castellano added one more hit with a runner past first base, scoring Gentry from first base on a single the other way, for a 4-3 win, the team’s fourth walk-off win at home this season.
Four stolen bases contributed to the win, including Edward Olivares swiping second base in the first inning to set a new franchise record. The 1986 Omaha Royals stole 192 bases, but the club’s four on Tuesday, beginning with Olivares brought the 2023 Storm Chasers to 196 steals this year.
Nick Loftin contributed a 3-for-4 day with three singles and a walk, while Mann and Gentry each walked twice.
The Storm Chasers will try and win a fourth straight game for the first time since the team’s 11-game win streak in June, on Wednesday at 6:35 p.m. CT with right-hander Jonathan Bowlan on the mound.