Storm Shutout Quakes in Series Sweep at The Diamond Presented by The Valley News
The Lake Elsinore Storm needed one more win. This win would complete the first ever six game sweep of the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes since six games became the new standard in 2021. They have always won at least one game in a series for over three seasons. They can no
The Lake Elsinore Storm needed one more win. This win would complete the first ever six game sweep of the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes since six games became the new standard in 2021. They have always won at least one game in a series for over three seasons. They can no longer tout this accomplishment as the Storm completed the sweep on Sunday afternoon in a 2-0 shutout that took five pitchers to complete.
The two runs came in both atypical and typical fashion.
Braedon Karpathios would hit a stand up, inside-the-park-home-run when his ball faded into the left field wall, bouncing past the left fielder and back into left field. The Quakes' left fielder would take his time getting to the ball and Karpathios would sprint into home with nearly enough time to get first base.
Chase Valentine would hit a single up the middle and score the second run. This was his tenth hit and ninth RBI of the homestand where he finished with an OPS of 1.362. These two runs would be enough.
On the pitching side, Miguel Mendez was today's starter. He would go three innings, give up three hits, and strike out three batters. Javier Chacon, Xavier Ruiz, Thomas Balboni Jr., and Kobe Robinson would finish off the Quakes only allowing five hits and striking out seven batters.
Robinson would be called to the mound for the last batter of the game, ending the afternoon with a strikeout. The Storm now lead the California League South by three games with 17 remaining in the first half. They now go on the road where they will face the last-placed Inland Empire 66ers.