NOLA Takes Series Opener from Storm Chasers
April 30, 2013 - Pacific Coast League (PCL1)
Omaha Storm Chasers News Release
Metairie, LA - Ed Lucas and Matt Diaz, two former Omaha Royals, combined for three hits and two runs batted in to lead New Orleans to a 6-3 triumph over Omaha Monday night in the opener of a four-game set at Zephyrs Stadium. The Zephyrs stopped a three-game slide while the Storm Chasers dropped their second straight but maintained their lead in the American Conference North Division after Memphis suffered a walk-off loss at Albuquerque.
Nate Adcock took the hill for Omaha on three days of rest after throwing 40 pitches and not making it out of the first inning in his prior outing against Iowa on Thursday. The right-hander ran into the first inning blues again, as Lucas hit a solo home run and Ben Lasater followed two batters later with a two-run poke to give the hosts a 3-0 edge. The Zephyrs manufactured another run in the second on a couple of singles and a double steal that saw Wilson Valdez score on the back end to make it a four-run spread and equal their total runs scored during the losing streak.
Giavotella got the Storm Chasers on the board in the third with a two-out double that plated Irving Falu, who had started the inning with an infield hit, just his second safety in 17 at-bats against a left-hand pitcher. Willy Taveras and David Lough opened the fifth with back-to-back singles and pulled off a double steal of their own before Giavotella delivered Taveras with a scoring fly ball to cut the deficit to 4-2. New Orleans starter Duane Below earned the win in his first start with the Marlins organization after being claimed on waivers from Detroit. The southpaw allowed seven hits, struck out four and did not walk a batter over five frames.
Meanwhile, Adcock settled down after the bumpy beginning and worked into the seventh inning. The right-hander issued his only two walks of the night in that frame and was followed by Blaine Boyer, who gave up back-to-back hits to Lasater and Diaz that, combined with a throwing error by right fielder Anthony Seratelli, produced two runs and a 6-2 NOLA advantage. Adcock suffered the loss after he surrendered all six runs, five earned, on 11 hits while striking out a pair over 6 1/3 innings of work.
Jonathan Albaladejo took over for the Z's and tossed two scoreless innings and gave way to Dan Jennings, who yielded a two-out, RBI single to Giavotella in the ninth that accounted for the final margin. Chris Hatcher came on to get the final out and register his league-leading eighth save of the season. Lough finished 3-for-5, giving him 24 hits in his last 10 games, while Giavotella has now driven in 11 runs in the eight professional games he has played in New Orleans. Taveras added three hits and scored twice as Omaha dropped a fourth straight series starter despite collecting 12 hits.
The series continues Tuesday night with left-hander Justin Marks taking the mound for Omaha for the first time this season against New Orleans southpaw Brad Hand. Coverage of the game gets underway at 6:40 pm and can be heard locally on 1180 Zone 2 The Deuce and online at omahastormchasers.com.
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