Controversial Call Costs Mavs

One of the reasons it's hard to win on the road is because the borderline calls usually go to the home team. Sunday afternoon a controversial eighth-inning call went in favor of the Storm, and helped Lake Elsinore to a 3-2 win over the Mavs.

With the game tied at two in the bottom of the eighth, the Storm had Danny Payne at second with two outs. Cole Figueroa sent a ground ball to the right side of the infield. Rich Poythress fielded the ball and tossed it over to Cheyne Hann at the bag.

According to field umpire Brett Terry, Hann (0-1) never touched the base. Payne never stopped running and score to put the Storm in the lead.

In the ninth, the Mavs went down in order against Storm closer Brad Brach, who earned his second save.

Runs were hard to come by for both team throughout the day. Prior to the eighth, each team had scored both runs in the same inning.

In the fifth, the Storm collected five of their six hits on the day and took a 2-0 lead. Both crossed the plate when Payne drove in a pair with a double.

The Storm, though, had two runners thrown out at the plate later in the inning, keeping the score at 2-0.

The Mavs tied next inning. Rich Poythress hit a double with the bases loaded to bring two runs home. Even though the Mavs still had runners at second and third with one out, they could not drive in another run.

For the second straight game, the Mavs struggled with runners in scoring position, going just 1-for-9. They did not have a hit after the sixth either.

Storm reliever Alexis Lara (1-1), who was tagged for five runs Friday night, pitched a scoreless eighth to earn his first win of the year.

After splitting the first series of the year, the Mavs continue on their road trip Monday night to begin a three-game set at Inland Empire at 7:05 p.m. Live coverage starts at 6:45 p.m. on the High Desert's TALK 960 and www.talk960.com