Ports Hang On for 2-1 Win to Take Series Lead

LAKE ELSINORE, Calif. — The Stockton Ports won a nail biter 2-1 on Saturday evening, setting up an opportunity to win the series over the Storm on Sunday afternoon.

The Ports broke a scoreless tie in the fourth inning, after catcher Carlos Franco singled to left and third baseman Elvis Rijo was hit by a pitch. Dereck Salom doubled into the gap in right center on the first pitch he saw to score Franco from second, and Stockton was ahead 1-0.

They’d go up 2-0 in the fifth inning when Nate Nankil barely missed a double off the wall in straight away center that was caught by centerfielder Nick Vogt. It was plenty deep enough to score Ryan Lasko who was hit by a pitch and moved up to third on a single from TJ Schofield-Sam for a 2-0 Ports lead.

Lake Elsinore would get on the board in the bottom of the fifth, after breaking up the perfect outing starter Yunior Tur had going to that point. A triple to left center by Rosman Verdugo — where the dimensions jut out to 425 in Storm Stadium’s version of a triples alley — gave the Storm their first hit and put a runner 90 feet away from home. Two batters later, a double off the wall in left by Braedon Karpathios cut it to a 2-1 Stockton lead.

But those would be the only two hits Tur would allow, as he retired the next two batters to finish the fifth and put himself in position to collect his first win of the season. Jackson Finley came in and pitched well in the sixth and seventh innings, before running into trouble in the eighth.

A single to left and a four-pitch walk to start the eighth led to Ports manager Javier Godard making the call to the pen, bringing in reliever Micah Dallas. The former Texas Tech Red Raider and Texas A&M Aggie struck out the next three batters to end the threat and get the Ports into the ninth still up 2-1.

In the bottom of the ninth, a base hit up the middle by Romeo Sanabria led off the inning, but Dallas was unfazed. He struck out the next two batters and got a ground out to short to secure the win and earn his third save of the season, giving Stockton a three-games-to-two lead in the six-game series.

Franco extended his hit streak to seven games, and Schofield-Sam moved his on hit streak and on-base streak to six and 12 games respectively

UP NEXT
The series finale is set up for a 1:15 first pitch on Sunday in Lake Elsinore. The Storm will start RHP Isaiah Lowe (3-2, 3.32) while the Ports will roll out RHP Tzu-Chen Sha (1-1, 4.69).

Single game tickets, mini plans, and group outings are all on sale for the 2024 season. For more information, call the Ports front office at 209-644-1900 or email at [email protected].