Balanced Omaha holds off 51s

Jose Martinez went 4-for-5 with a triple and a double, one of seven Omaha players with multiple hits Wednesday in the Storm Chasers' 8-7 win over the 51s in a Pacific Coast League game at Cashman Field.

The loss, coupled with El Paso's 8-1 win over Memphis, left Las Vegas (68-57) a half-game ahead of the Chihuahuas in the Pacific South Division.

Cheslor Cuthbert and Christian Colon had three hits apiece for Omaha (69-56), which held a 19-12 edge in hits and left 16 runners on base.

The 51s trailed 8-2 heading into the eighth before scoring four runs off reliever Joba Chamberlain, who was making his Storm Chasers debut.

Eric Campbell went 3-for-5 with three runs and a run-scoring single in the eighth for Las Vegas.

Kirk Nieuwenhuis also went 3-for-5, with an RBI triple and an RBI double. The double came with two outs in the ninth and drove in Campbell to cut Omaha's lead to 8-7.

Dilson Herrera and Darrell Ceciliani each went 2-for-5 for the 51s, with Herrera hitting his seventh home run and Ceciliani hitting a double and stealing two bases.

Storm Chasers starter Andy Ferguson (4-3) gave up two runs on five hits and no walks and struck out five in 5 1/3 innings.

Las Vegas starter Matt Bowman (7-14) worked four-plus innings, giving up four runs on 12 hits and one walk and striking out none.