First half record: 49-24

Second half record: 40-35

Overall record: 89-59

It was an incredible season for the Omaha Storm Chasers, earning their first playoff berth in a decade after a dominant first half. Although it was a slower second half, they turned it on when they needed to in the International League Championship series to win two of three and advance to the Triple-A National Championship Game in Las Vegas.

Back-and-forth action in the first three innings

The National Championship game did not start as planned, with starting pitcher Luinder Avila giving up 6 hits and 3 runs (2 earned) in 1.1 Innings pitched. He was able to strikeout three batters with no walks. The Sugar Land Space Cowboys (Houston Astros affiliate) had the bases loaded and zero outs in the first inning and only managed one run. They also had runners on second and third with one out in the 2nd inning when Austin Cox took the mound but couldn’t bring in those baserunners.

Needing a spark on offense after being down 3-0, Cam Devanney hit a solo home run to bring the Storm Chasers one run closer. After John Rave and Nate Eaton singles and a Drew Waters fly-out to the warning track, Brian O’Keefe stepped to the plate with two outs. On the first pitch of the at-bat, O’Keefe hit a 400 ft. shot to center that splashed into the pool directly behind the outfield fence. The Storm Chasers took a 4-3 lead into the bottom of the 3rd.

Austin Cox got into some trouble in the third inning, allowing the bases to load with one out, although one baserunner did reach on a John Rave dropped fly ball. After walking in a run to make the score 4-4, Cox was replaced by Eric Cerantola. Cerantola struck out the first batter he faced for the second out of the inning before walking another run in. The next batter hit a line-drive to left-center to clear the bases and put the Storm Chasers in a 8-4 hole.

The Storm Chasers struggle to keep up

The Space Cowboys tallied two solo home runs off of Cerantola in the bottom of the 4th to increase their lead to 10-4. However, Brian O’Keefe quickly got those two runs back with his second home run of the night, a two-run shot to left in the top of the 5th inning. The Space Cowboys continued to put pressure on Omaha’s pitchers in the 5th inning, tallying three more runs on a double, single, and groundout off of pitcher Noah Murdock.

Dan Altavilla and Evan Sisk didn’t allow a baserunner in the 6th, 7th, or 8th innings, but the Storm Chasers couldn’t capitalize. Omaha threatened in the 8th, loading the bases with only one out, but a strikeout and groundout quickly ended the threat. The Storm Chasers have proven to be a gritty bunch all season but couldn’t claw their way back into this one. Although the season didn’t end with a cherry on top, the team should be proud of the most impressive season the city of Omaha has seen in years.

Top performers

Brian O’Keefe – 2 for 4, 2 HR, 5 RBI, 1 BB

Nate Eaton – 2 for 5

Cam Devanney – 2 for 2, 1 HR, 1 RBI

Dan Altavilla – 2.0 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K

Evan Sisk – 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K

Image credit: Mark Kuhlmann/Omaha Storm Chasers