Quakes Fall Late in Lake Elsinore

Lake Elsinore, CA - The Quakes allowed three home runs and were victimized by poor defense on Saturday night, as they dropped a 6-5 decision to the Lake Elsinore Storm at Pete Lehr Field.
A pair of errors opened the door for a pair of two-out two-run homers by the Lake Elsinore offense, ending Rancho's modest two-game winning streak.
Tied at 5-5 in the last of the ninth, Ruddy Giron tripled to open the inning against Quakes' reliever Jason Richman (2-1). Chris Baker followed with a deep sac fly to center field, plating Giron to end the game.
Rancho took an early 1-0 lead in the second, as DJ Peters and Quincy Latimore had back-to-back doubles.
Lake Elsinore answered against Rancho starter Devin Smeltzer in the bottom of the inning, as after an error but a man aboard, Baker blasted a two-run homer, giving the Storm their first lead of the night.
Rancho responded in the fourth, as they tallied three runs to take a 4-2 lead against Storm starter Adrian De Horta. Luke Raley tripled and scored on a wild pitch to open the inning, tying the contest at 2-2. Peters followed with a single, moved to third on another Latimore double, then scored on a single by Ibandel Isabel, putting the Quakes up 3-2. Two batters later, Brandon Montgomery brought home another run with an RBI groundout, making it a two-run advantage.
Another error haunted Smeltzer in the fifth, as with two outs and a man aboard, Michael Gettys smashed one out to left field for his 15th homer of the year, knotting the game at 4-4.
In the sixth, the Quakes took the lead yet again, as Latimore walked and scored on a misplayed pop-up by Jose Brizuela, giving the Quakes a 5-4 lead.
Alex Hermeling worked a 1-2-3 sixth, but got tagged for a long-ball in the seventh, as Giron's solo-shot tied the game at 5-5.
Storm reliever Colby Blueberg (7-2) pitched a 1-2-3 ninth inning to notch the win for the Storm.
The Quakes and Storm finish up their three-game series on Sunday, with first pitch scheduled for 5:00pm. Jordan Sheffield (0-1) takes on Lake Elsinore's Logan Allen (2-4) in the finale.
After an off-day on Monday, the Quakes will open a six-game home stand on Tuesday, hosting Lake Elsinore and Inland Empire for three games each. Tuesday is another Healthy RC Recycle Tuesday, as fans that bring ten CRV-eligible bottles or cans to the ballpark will receive a free Club Seat Ticket. Game time on Tuesday is 7:05pm and tickets are available by calling (909) 481-5000 or online at rcquakes.com.