Stripers’ Loss Sealed by Omaha’s Big Sixth Inning

LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. – The Gwinnett Stripers (36-49) were eyeing their fourth consecutive comeback victory over the Omaha Storm Chasers (41-41) trailing only 2-1 in the sixth inning, but a five-run eruption from the visitors in that frame put an abrupt end to those hopes and produced a 7-1 win for Omaha on Friday night at Coolray Field.

Decisive Plays: As they have done each game in this series, the Storm Chasers struck first on the scoreboard, this time with a solo home run from Logan Porter (9) to go ahead 1-0. Gwinnett responded with an RBI groundout from Braden Shewmake to even the score at 1-1 in the third. Paxton Wallace put Omaha ahead for good at 2-1 with an RBI single in the fourth. A two-run home run from Jermaine Palacios (8) was just the start of a five-run sixth inning from Omaha that put the game out of reach at 7-1.

Key Contributors: Vaughn Grissom (2-for-4, double) had the only extra-base hit for Gwinnett while Joshua Fuentes (2-for-4) and Luke Williams (2-for-3, steal) had the other multi-hit games. For Omaha, Palacios (2-for-5, homer, 2 RBIs) had the only multi-RBI game. Cole Ragans (W, 1-1) and Jonathan Bowlan (S, 1) combined to allow one run on seven hits while striking out 11.

Noteworthy: Forrest Wall recorded his first stolen base since June 23. His 45^th stolen base of the year puts him one shy of the Gwinnett single season record set by Luis Durango (46 in 2012). The Stripers lost by six runs on Friday night, matching the combined deficit of their three previous home losses.

Next Game (Saturday, July 8): Gwinnett vs. Omaha, 6:05 p.m. ET at Coolray Field. Broadcast: 5:50 p.m. on MyCountry993.com and Bally Live. RHP Allan Winans (6-3, 2.78 ERA) for the Stripers against LHP Angel Zerpa (0-1, 6.23 ERA) for the Storm Chasers. The Stripers are giving away Gwinnett Peaches Replica Jerseys to the first 2,000 fans at Coolray Field, courtesy of Coca-Cola.