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PCL1 New Orleans Baby Cakes

Zephyrs Take Two from Storm Chasers

May 26, 2013 - Pacific Coast League (PCL1)
New Orleans Baby Cakes News Release


The New Orleans Zephyrs earned a pair of wins against the Omaha Storm Chasers on Saturday, first winning the completion of a suspended game from May 1, then rallying to take the nightcap.

In the first game, which was picked up in the bottom of the first inning, Paul Gran had two hits, including a two-run triple, and scored twice to lead the Zephyrs to a 5-3 win.

The clubs then played a seven-inning contest, which saw the Z's rally to win in their final at-bat, getting an RBI single from Ed Lucas in the bottom of the sixth for a 5-4 victory.

Gran, who had gone his first 60 at-bats with the Zephyrs without driving in a run, collected three RBI in one day, highlighted by his two-run triple in the second inning of the opener. Gran then scored on a single by Kevin Mattison, putting the Z's in front, 3-0.

Omaha got a run back in the top of the third after placing runners at second and third with none out, settling for just one run on a sacrifice fly by Max Ramirez.

New Orleans stretched its lead to 5-1 in the fourth, after Gran led off with a double off the left field fence, and again scored on a Mattison single. A wild pitch by Omaha 's Nate Adcock with Mattison at third allowed the Zephyrs' fifth run to score.

The Storm Chasers closed to within 5-3 in the seventh. Johnny Giavotella led off with a home run to left, and back-to-back singles by Xavier Nady and Anthony Seratelli put two runners in scoring position with nobody out. Chad Tracy lifted a sacrifice fly to center, but Matt Neil struck out Brett Hayes and got the final out of the inning when Seratelli was caught in a rundown between second and third.

Jonathan Albaladejo retired six of the seven batters he faced to pick up his first save of the season, and preserve the first career Triple-A win for Neil, who scattered three runs and seven hits in six innings.

The Zephyrs rallied from a pair of deficits to win the second contest. Omaha pushed across three runs in the top of the second after loading the bases with no outs. Willy Taveras laced a two-run double down the right field line, and Irving Falu drove in the third run on a single to left, though Jake Smolinski cut down a potential fourth run by throwing out Taveras at the plate for the final out. It was Smolinski's second outfield assist in as many days, and his third of the year.

New Orleans quickly answered in the bottom of the frame, as Bryan Petersen drew a leadoff walk, stole second and scored on an error by second baseman Christian Colon. Kyle Skipworth later added a sacrifice fly, bringing the Z's within 3-2.

Omaha capitalized on a pair of walks to start the fourth inning, getting a two-out RBI single from Giavotella, but the Zephyrs again came back in the bottom of the inning when Gran drew a bases-loaded walk to make the score 4-3.

Agressive baserunning allowed the Z's to tie the score in the fifth. Matt Downs walked to lead off the inning and went to second on a single by Lucas. Omaha turned to reliever Donnie Joseph, who uncorked a wild pitch with two outs that allowed Downs to score all the way from second base.

The Zephyrs' winning rally in the sixth began with Ben Lasater's third hit of the game, a single up the middle. Pinch-runner Gorkys Hernandez stole his team-leading 13th base of the season, and after Skipworth struck out, Kelvin Herrera walked Gran .

A passed ball advanced the runners to second and third, and the Storm Chasers elected to intentionally walk Mattison . The strategy appeared ready to pay off when Downs struck out after a long battle with Herrera, but Lucas lined a single over the glove of Giavotella at second to bring in the go-ahead run.

Chris Hatcher recorded the final three outs for his PCL-best 15th save.

The Zephyrs and Storm Chasers continue the series Sunday at 2 p.m.

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