The Lehigh Valley IronPigs (45-51, 10-11) concluded the three-game series against the Omaha Storm Chasers (43-52, 10-11) on Sunday evening at Werner Park. Drake Fellows was on the mound for Lehigh Valley against Mitch Spence of Omaha.
At the top of the first inning, Lehigh Valley center fielder Steward Berroa and left fielder Felix Reyes hit singles, with Berroa running to third base. Designated hitter Tommy Pham hit an RBI single to center field, scoring Berroa to put the IronPigs up 1-0. With one out, right fielder Bryan De La Cruz grounded into a 3-6-3 inning-ending double play, but Reyes scored before the final out was recorded for a 2-0 lead.
At the top of the second inning with two outs, Lehigh Valley had a runner on first base when shortstop Robert Moore hit Spence’s curveball for a two-run home run at 361 feet to right field, extending their lead to 4-0. It was Moore’s ninth home run of the season, and the exit velocity off the bat was 102.3 mph. With two outs, Felix Reyes popped out to shortstop Andrew Velazquez for the final out of the inning.
In the bottom of the second inning, Omaha had the bases loaded with nobody out when Andrew Velazquez hit a two-run RBI single to right field, scoring Gavin Cross and Brandon Drury. It was now 4-2. A sacrifice fly by John Rave brought home Luca Tresh, and it was now 4-3. With two outs, the Storm Chasers tied the game 4-4 on an RBI single by Kameron Misner, scoring Andrew Velazquez. Fellows struck out Brett Squires to end the inning. Drake Fellows went two innings, allowing four hits, four runs, three walks, and struck out one, throwing 49 pitches, of which 26 were strikes.
At the top of the third inning, Lehigh Valley had runners on second and third base when Liover Peguero hit an RBI single to shortstop Andrew Velazquez, scoring Keaton Anthony to give the IronPigs a 5-4 lead. Later, Lehigh Valley had the bases loaded with two outs when Robert Moore grounded out to first base, and the inning was over.
Ryan Cusick pitched for Lehigh Valley in the bottom of the third inning. Moving to the bottom of the fourth inning, Omaha had the bases loaded when Cusick threw a wild pitch, scoring Andrew Velazquez, and the game was tied 5-5 with one out. Abraham Toro hit an RBI single to right field, scoring John Rave to put the Storm Chasers ahead 6-5. With the bases loaded, Cusick walked Gavin Cross, scoring Kameron Misner, and it was now 7-5.
Cusick was replaced by Nolan Hoffman. Brandon Drury cleared the bases by hitting Hoffman’s curveball for a grand slam to center field for an 11-5 lead. It was his fourth home run of the season. With two outs, a flyout by Andrew Velazquez ended the inning. Cusick went 1.1 innings, allowing two hits, six runs, and six walks, throwing 46 pitches, of which 16 were strikes. Hoffman allowed two hits and one run, throwing four pitches, of which four were strikes.
At the top of the fifth inning, Lehigh Valley had runners on first and second base with two outs when Robert Moore hit Ryan Ramsey’s cutter for a three-run home run at 381 feet to left field, cutting Omaha’s lead to 11-8. It was his second home run of the game, 10th home run of the season, and the exit velocity off the bat was 96.4 mph. A groundout by Steward Berroa ended the inning.
In the bottom of the fifth inning, Omaha had runners on the corners with one out when Brett Squires hit a sacrifice fly to right field, scoring John Rave for a 12-8 lead. A flyout by Abraham Toro ended the inning. Nolan Hoffman went 1.2 innings, allowing three hits, two runs, one walk, and one strikeout, throwing 22 pitches, of which 15 were strikes.
Grant Holman pitched for Lehigh Valley in the bottom of the sixth inning. He went two innings with two strikeouts, throwing 24 pitches, of which 19 were strikes. Kirby Snead pitched for Lehigh Valley in the bottom of the eighth inning. He allowed a hit, throwing 12 pitches, of which eight were strikes, to get three outs.
In the bottom of the ninth inning, Lehigh Valley had a runner on second base when Felix Reyes reached first base on a fielding error by third baseman Brandon Drury, scoring Steward Berroa, and it was now 12-9 with two outs. Tommy Pham struck out swinging, and the game was over. The IronPigs were swept by the Storm Chasers 12-9.
Lehigh Valley finished the night with 14 hits, committed one error, went 4 for 19 with runners in scoring position, and left 12 men on base. Robert Moore went 2 for 4 with two home runs, a walk, and five RBIs. The loss went to Lehigh Valley pitcher Ryan Cusick (1-6), and the win went to Omaha pitcher Ryan Ramsey (5-4).
The IronPigs continue their road trip at Victory Field to begin a six-game series starting on Tuesday at 7:05 pm against the Indianapolis Indians on the MLB App and Bally Sports Live.
