Storm Win On HBP to Win 9th Straight Over Quakes Presented by The Valley News

Beating your in-division rival in five straight games is a difficult task, nearly doubling that number is essentially impossible. And impossible is exactly what their odds seemed to be five and a half innings into the game last night.

They found themselves down six runs and onto their second pitcher of the game after starter Eric Yost departed following 3.2 innings, three earned runs (six total runs), and seven hits allowed.

The Lake Elsinore Storm began clawing back in the bottom of the sixth. A Rosman Verdugo double scored the home team's first runner of the game. In the bottom of the following inning, Jacob Campbell would hit a three-run knock for the second consecutive day. This cut the lead to just two runs going into the eighth inning.

After a scoreless inning from Yerry Landinez, the Storm were gifted two runs. The first would come on a fielding error that scored Verdugo and the second would be after a bases-loaded wild pitch would bring Braedon Karpathios home.

The game would remain tied after nine frames would be played and Thomas Balboni would get both his scoreless ninth inning, and the first inning in extras. After striking out the first batter in that frame, a double would bring home the automatic base runner at second base. A wild pitch from the catcher would then score another run to bring the Quake's lead to two.

A double from Ryan Wilson would bring the automatic runner home in the bottom of the inning. A strikeout would fail to move him to third until a wild pitch did the trick. Jose Sanabria would then knock a single into right field. Two consecutive walks, including an incredible at bat from Leodalis De Vries, would load the bases. Campbell would pop out which brought Nick Vogt to the plate with two outs, the bases loaded, and the game still tied.

Nick Vogt would be hit by a pitch and the Storm would win their ninth straight game against the Quakes. The impossible was indeed possible.