66ers Pound Storm in Finale
Lake Elsinonre, CA- The Inland Empire 66ers matched a season-best seven runs in an inning and hung on for a 14-10 win at Lake Elsinore on Sunday. The win gave the Sixers the series win three-games-to-two.
The 66ers trailed 3-1 heading into the fourth when Pedro Ruiz took Lake Elsinore starter Rafael DePaula (3-4) deep for a three-run homer, his first of the year, to give Inland Empire a 4-3 lead.
The 66ers (27-28) added two runs in the fifth and exploded for a seven runs in the seventh inning against reliever Luis Hernandez. The righty did not fare well as he walked the first three batters he faced and then gave up back-to-back two-run doubles to Kaleb Cowart and Michael Strentz. After a walk to Tyler Palmer, Hernandez was relieved by southpaw Kyle Bartsch. The lefty promptly surrendered a 3-run homer to Quinten Davis. It was Davis' first of the year and gave IE a seven run frame for the second time this season, the last coming on April 16th.
Michael Snyder tacked on a solo shot in the eighth for the 66ers, his fourth of the year to make it 14-6. Lake Elsinore (25-31) did not go down without a fight as the Storm batted around in the ninth scoring four times and had the potential tying run on-deck when Brian Loconsole got Marcus Davis to fly out and end the game. Former 66er Jose Rondon had tremendous game in the loss as he was 4-for-4 with two walks on his ledger.
Jordan Kipper allowed four runs over five frames for the 66ers. He gave up seven hits and two walks with two K's to improve to 2-4 on the year. Michael Strentz had the only multi-hit game for the 66ers as the club was out-hit by a 17-9 margin but club's three homers matched a season high and took eight walks.
The 66ers open a series at Stockton on Monday at 7:10 pm. The game can be head live at 66ers.com.