Lake Elsinore Storm Beat Visalia to Become South Division Champions Presented by The Valley News
The Lake Elsinore Storm needed just one win to return to the California League Championship Series and, on Thursday night, they ended up needing just two runs to do so. The Storm played in front of over 1,300 fans as they beat the Visalia Rawhide by a final score of
The Lake Elsinore Storm needed just one win to return to the California League Championship Series and, on Thursday night, they ended up needing just two runs to do so. The Storm played in front of over 1,300 fans as they beat the Visalia Rawhide by a final score of 2-1. This win pushes them to the Championship Series with Game One set to be played at The Lake Elsinore Diamond on Sunday, September 15th (1:15 PM).
It took just over two and a half hours to finalize this conclusion.
It began with the Storm starting pitching and tonight's starter was the ideal choice for a closeout home game. Miguel Mendez was excellent in nearly every regular season home start this year. His 2.61 ERA in 10 games and 38 innings is far superior to his 4.95 road ERA . He had allowed four home runs on the road this season but not a single ballyard leaver at The Diamond of Lake Elsinore. He had an opponent batting average of .187 at home with 43 strikeouts. This was the player you wanted on the mound in this situation.
He got through a scoreless first-inning but the Rawhide also saw two men reach base. Kai Roberts led the bottom of the same frame as he has in most games since August 6th. He then got on base as he has in most games since August 6th. He then proceeded to steal a base which he had done 14 times in those 24 games since August 6th. This set up a runner in scoring position with no outs. After a walk and a throwing error on a pick-off attempt, the kind of mistake you force other teams to make when you have Kai's speed, Roberts found himself at third base.
Ryan Jackson lifted a ball into left field which was just far enough to bring him home. The Storm took a 1-0 lead.
Miguel Mendez cruised through the next two frames before trouble reared its head in the fourth inning. Following a groundout, a throwing error put Angel Ortiz on first base. A subsequent single and throwing error put the tying run at third base. A walk loaded the bases before a sacrifice fly tied the game. Mendez would strike out the final batter of the frame.
Mendez would ultimately end with five innings pitched, however, he flirted with an attempt to get through a sixth. Instead, he left two men on base and Kleiber Olmedo as his reliever. Druw Jones would be caught stealing third base, taking a man out of scoring position and drastically lowering the stress levels inside The Diamond. Olmedo would induce a lineout and strike out the next batter he saw.
This lockdown performance would prove fortuitous as in the bottom of the sixth inning, in the first at bat, and on the fourth pitch thrown, Braedon Karpahios would send an opposite-field homer over the left field wall. This proved to be the winning run and much of the dugout would spill out to near home plate as Karpathios celebrated.
Olmedo would keep the clamps on Visalia for two more innings before Tyson Neighbors was selected as the closer tonight. Neighbors induced a lineout before allowing a free pass. Luckily, he needed just four more pitches to get the next two outs and the Storm celebrated on the pitcher's mound as they had become the California League's South Divison Champions.
They will now face the Modesto Nuts as they are two wins away from a second California League Championship in three seasons. The first game of this series will be played in Lake Elsinore on Sunday at 1:15 PM.