LAKE ELSINORE, CA – After last night’s disappointing 7-4 loss to Rancho Cucamonga, Lake Elsinore responded in a big way. The Storm tallied on a consistent five runs in five innings before exploding for six in the sixth and three more in the eighth on their way to a 14-0 win for their second shutout victory of the series.
The action started in the bottom of the first for Lake Elsinore. After a leadoff walk from Bradley Frye, Ty Harvey ripped a double down the left field line to plate Frye from first. The second was more of the same. Shortstop Jorge Quintana opened up the inning with a well-placed bunt single on the third base side. Quintana would then advance to second on a passed ball and come around to score two batters later thanks to an RBI single from Qrey Lott. After two innings, the Storm quickly led 2-0.
The third inning would go scoreless for each side, but Lake Elsinore would tack on another in the fourth. After two quick outs, Jose Verdugo reached on an error by Quakes third baseman Gabriel Davalillo. Not long after, Lott belted his second RBI of the game with another single to left. Slowly but surely, Lake Elsinore continued to extend its lead over Rancho.
In the fifth inning, the Storm plated two more. With one out, Ryan Wideman ripped a single to left and immediately stole second base for his league-leading 28th swiped bag. After Luke Cantwell was hit by a pitch and LE had two on and just one out, Truitt Madonna socked a two-run double to plate Wideman and Cantwell and give the Storm a five run advantage. Things were getting out of hand in a hurry for Rancho.
If the Quakes had thought things couldn’t get any worse, they were wrong. Verdugo led off the inning with a walk and then was retired at second on a fielder's choice from Lott. With one on and one out, the walk party began. Conner Westenburg, Bradley Frye and Ty Harvey all reached via the free pass which scored the first run of the inning. After a pitching change, Wideman reached on another error from Davalillo. Everyone was safe and moved station to station to extend the advantage to 7-0. From there, Kerrington Cross came in to pinch hit and ripped an infield single to score one more. Then with Madonna up, Harvey came in to score on a wild pitch. One batter later, Quintana found the field for his second hit of the game with a 2-RBI double down the right field line. In the blink of an eye, the Storm more than doubled their original advantage heading into the inning with a six-spot to take a 11-0 lead.
The seventh inning went scoreless again for each side, just the second time it happened during the game. In the eighth, Lake Elsinore did not stop the onslaught. George Bilecki entered as a pinch-hitter and smoked a double into right field. One batter later, Cross had the highlight of the night with a 430 foot two-run blast off the left field scoreboard. From there, the Quakes elected to bring in catcher Eliezer Rivero to pitch so Rancho would not waste an unnecessary arm. Quintana ripped his third hit of the day as a double and Westenburg would then drive him in for the games 14th and final run.
All in all, the Storm dominated the Quakes thanks to exceptional hitting but stellar pitching. Three no-hit innings from starter Kruz Schoolcraft followed up by six more shutout innings from Nick Falter, Vicarte Domingo and Joseph Herrera. Going back to the fifth inning of yesterday’s loss, the Storm pitching staff has now thrown 13.1 consecutive scoreless innings.
Lake Elsinore returns to action on Saturday to face Rancho Cucamonga for game five of the six-game set from Diamond Stadium. This is the second series of the year between the Storm and the Quakes with the two teams splitting the first six games. The Storm will turn to RHP Tyler Schmitt (2-2, 5.09 ERA) to face Quakes RHP Trey Gregory-Alford (2-1, 2.15 ERA). First pitch is scheduled for 6:45 p.m. PT.
About the Lake Elsinore Storm
The Lake Elsinore Storm are the Single-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres in the California League. For more information on the Storm, visit milb.com/lake-elsinore. For information about tickets to any of Lake Elsinore’s 66 home games, call (951) 245-4487 or email: info@stormbaseball.com.