Hicklen Grand Slam Pushes Omaha over St. Paul
May 17, 2022 - International League (IL)
Omaha Storm Chasers News Release
PAPILLION, Neb. - The Omaha Storm Chasers (17-19) defeated the St. Paul Saints (15-20) in the series opener 8-1.
Omaha would earn the first tally of the game in the third when DH Jimmy Govern hit a single to lead off the inning and moved to second on a walk from C William Hancock. SS Iván Castillo loaded the bases, reaching on a throwing error by the Saints catcher on a sacrifice bunt play. 2B Gabriel Cancel drew a walk with the bases still loaded to earn the RBI and give Omaha the 1-0 lead.
St. Paul would answer with an RBI walk in the fifth, but the Storm Chasers would come back immediately in the bottom of the frame. CF Dairon Blanco began the inning with single into centerfield. RF Nick Pratto followed that up with a shift-beating single to third base before Cancel would move the runners over with a groundout to third base. 1B Vinnie Pasquantino hit a sacrifice fly into left to score Blanco and give Omaha the lead back 2-1.
Omaha starting pitcher RHP Daniel Mengden would go 5.0 innings, allowing one earned run with nine strikeouts, tying a career high set in 2019.
The Storm Chasers would draw a trifecta of walks to start off the seventh, putting Castillo, Blanco, and Pratto on the bases. Pasquantino would get hit by a pitch to score a run and still leave the bases juiced for LF Brewer Hicklen who proceeded to send the ball over the fence for the second Storm Chasers grand slam of the season, opening a 7-1 lead for Omaha through seven innings SS Angelo Castellano hit a single in the eighth and moved to second on a Blanco single. Cancel would score Castellano on a double to right field, giving Omaha the 8-1 win.
LHP Foster Griffin extended his scoreless streak to 10.0 innings with 2.0 hitless innings tonight with three strikeouts. After tonight's effort, Griffin now has Omaha's longest scoreless streak of the season.
The Storm Chasers to continue their six-game series against the St. Paul Saints with game two on Wednesday. Bring your cat out to Take Meowt to the Ballgame night tomorrow, with first pitch scheduled for 6:35 from Werner Park with coverage beginning at 6:15 p.m. with the Sarpy County Tourism Pregame Show on 1180 The Zone.
For more tickets and more information, please visit omahastormchasers.com, call the Werner Park Ticket office at (402) 738-5100, and follow the team on social media. You can follow the team on Twitter @omastormchasers, on Instagram @omahastormchasers, and "like" the team on Facebook at facebook.com/omahastormchasers.
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