LAKE ELSINORE, CA – After dropping two straight games to Stockton in disappointing fashion, Lake Elsinore got the bats going early and it seemed like things would be different. Then, the Ports rattled off 11 runs in a two inning span and never looked back. The Storm made things interesting in the final few innings, but the Ports held on for a 14-10 win from Diamond Stadium.
The action got going right away for Stockton. On the first pitch of the game from Lake Elsinore starter Kruz Schoolcraft, Michael Brooks clobbered it to deep left field and started off the game with a solo-home run. That was the first pitch Brooks had seen all series after sitting Tuesday-Thursday. It was a quick statement from the Ports, but Schoolcraft settled in and retired the next three batters.
Lake Elsinore responded in the bottom of the first with a leadoff double from Yimy Tovar. Jose Verdugo laid down a sacrifice bunt to move Tovar to third and wound up being safe at first after a throwing error from Ports starting pitcher Corey Braun. Tovar would come in to score on a passed ball from Stockton catcher Ramon Landaeta. After a walk from Yoiber Ocopio and a strikeout via Bradley Frye, George Bilecki snapped a single to center to score Verdugo and give the Storm a 2-1 lead after the first inning.
Stockton wasted no time to answer back. A half-inning later, the Ports tied the score at two with a Landaeta double to score Gavin Turley from first. From then until the fifth, the score would remain 2-2, but the scoring was just getting started.
Schoolcraft went back out for the fifth with a chance to go at least five innings in five consecutive starts. But in the third time through the Ports lineup, Stockton started to get to him. Ben Newton slashed a leadoff single and Brooks would follow suit with one of his own. With runners on the corners, the Storm traded a run for an out after Bryan Andrade grounded into a fielder’s choice. That gave Stockton a 3-2 lead. Max Durrington grounded into a fielder’s choice himself one batter later, and it seemed like the Storm would get out of the fifth with just the one run allowed…… they would be wrong.
A passed ball and a walk later, Ports left-fielder Breyson Guedez ripped a line-drive back to Schoolcraft that hit the Storm pitcher in the back of the head. A run scored to extend the Stockton lead and Schoolcraft would exit after taking the liner. He was able to walk off the field under his own power. Righty Carson Swilling came in to replace him and had a tough time in his limited action. Swilling immediately gave up an RBI single to Edgar Montero and a three-run homer to Gavin Turley. The scoring in the fifth would end but Stockton built a six-run lead in the blink of an eye.
The Ports came back up for the sixth up 8-2 and it was more of the same. Swilling remained in but not for very long. After a leadoff walk and a flyout, Swilling allowed back-to-back doubles, then back-to-back walks and then an RBI single to push the Stockton lead to 11-2. Swilling finished pitching with just two-thirds of an inning completed and allowed seven runs with six of them earned. Isaiah Lowe was his replacement and managed to get out of the sixth but not before allowing a one-run single to Newton and his catcher Alcides Hernandez allowing a passed ball to extend the Ports lead to 11.
Then, the Storm started to fight back. Dylan Grego mashed an RBI double to left and cut the deficit to just ten. The big rally came in the seventh. After Tovar and Verdugo recorded two quick outs, Ocopio was hit by a pitch, Frye singled, and Bilecki walked to load the bases. Then the Storm were hit by a pitch in back to back plate appearances with Qrey Lott and Conner Westenburg taking one for the team. That brought it back to an eight-run game. Grego would start to make things interesting with his second double of the night, this one clearing the bases to bring Lake Elsinore back within five. Truitt Madonna came in to pinch-hit and drew a walk for Tovar and immediately ripped his second double of the game to score two more runs and make it 13-10. The Storm were not out of it after a massive seven-run seventh.
The eighth inning came and went quietly and in the top of the ninth, Stockton got some much-needed insurance. Ports first baseman Daniel Bucciero mashed a solo-shot to right-center and gave the Ports a 14-10 lead. It stopped the bleeding and proved to be too much for Lake Elsinore to overcome. The Storm loaded the bases in the bottom of the ninth for Ocopio, who represented the tying run, but the first baseman lined out sharply to short to end the game. What could have been a miraculous comeback by Lake Elsinore fell just short and the Storm lost their third game in a row and made it 10 of the last 12.
Lake Elsinore returns to action on Saturday to face Stockton for game five of the six-game set from Diamond Stadium. This is the second series of the year between the Storm and the Ports with Stockton winning the first series 4-2. The Storm will turn to RHP Tyler Schmitt (4-4, 4.88 ERA) to face Grizzlies RHP Donny Troconis (0-3, 7.15 ERA). First pitch is scheduled for 4:45 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