LAKE ELSINORE, Calif. - The Storm welcomed the Inland Empire 66ers for a three-game homestand that began this past Tuesday.Lake Elsinore welcomed Inland Empire to Pete Lehr Field for a weekday three-games series in which the Storm won two out of three games. Coming into the game the Storm had
LAKE ELSINORE, Calif. - The Storm welcomed the Inland Empire 66ers for a three-game homestand that began this past Tuesday.
Lake Elsinore welcomed Inland Empire to Pete Lehr Field for a weekday three-games series in which the Storm won two out of three games. Coming into the game the Storm had won three straight games and looked to continue pushing towards the top of the California League South division standings. Tuesday's game offered an offensive attack for the Eyes in front of a festive Fiesta Tuesday crowd. With a 1-0 lead in the third inning, first baseman Brad Zunica changed the complexion of the game when the Bradenton, Florida native softly hit a double down the left field line that scored two runs and began a streak of scoring at least one run in four straight innings. An RBI double in the fourth and a two-RBI single by infielder Matthew Batten were premiere highlights since they ended up being the game winning hits and the first RBIs for the Shelton, Connecticut native at The Diamond this season. Storm starter Adrian Morejon had yet another dominant performance as he went 5+ innings, allowing just two earned runs and striking out six batters on his way to his second win of the season.
The Storm started game two of the series on a high note as they took a 2-1 lead going into the sixth inning courtesy of RBI doubles by Edward Olivares and reigning California League Player of the Month Buddy Reed. Unfortunately, the 66er bats were on fire all night long as each starter had at least one hit and three batters recorded a multi-hit game.
On a positive note, starter Ronald Bolaños had a much-improved performance this time on the mound as he tied his longest outing with five innings pitched and allowed a season-low one earned run in a no-decision effort. The Storm bullpen crumbled under the pressure as the combination of Emmanuel Ramirez and Diomar Lopez yielded five late runs in the seventh, eighth and ninth inning which catapulted the 66ers into the lead for good. During that time Luis Rengifo, Jared Walsh, Kevin Williams Jr., Julian Leon and DJ Jenkins all recorded an RBI which led to the Storm four-game winning streak being snapped as the Los Angeles Angels affiliate defeat the Storm 6-3.
In the finale on a Thirsty Thursday, the Storm looked to avoid another losing series and stay on pace with the Lancaster JetHawks for first place in the South division. However, Inland Empire had different plans as they whacked a season-best 15 hits across four different Storm pitchers.
Padres #5 Prospect (according to MLBPipeline) Michel Baez was tabbed for a season-high four runs in just 4.1IP and struggled to find his shutdown form all night long. Offensively, catcher Luis Torrens had a break out game going three-for-four with a team-leading 21st RBI and infielder Matt Batten continued to show strength and poise at the plate and in the field with some nifty defensive plays all across the diamond.
With the 66ers batting 7-for-15 with runners in scoring position and scoring a total of seven runs, they gave their own pitching staff, including winning pitcher Matt Ball plenty of support to pick up his first Cal-League win. The 66ers would complete a series victory over the Storm by the final of 7-4 and have pulled even in the season series head-to-head standings, 5-5. These two teams will reunite at The Diamond during Hispanic Heritage Weekend June 1st - 3rd.
The Storm will return home for a six-game homestand against the Lancaster JetHawks and San Jose Giants following a three-game series in Rancho Cucamonga and a day off on Monday, May 21st.
