Ontario's Resilience Shines in Late Comeback Against Storm

LAKE ELSINORE, Calif. — The Ontario Tower Buzzers proved just how tough they are on Thursday night in Lake Elsinore. Down by three runs late in the game, they rallied to beat the Storm, pulling off a wild 10-8 win in 10 innings at The Diamond.

That win bumps Ontario up to 31-29 and gives them a 2-1 lead in this six-game showdown with California League South’s top team.

But it wasn’t easy. Ontario jumped ahead early, only to watch the lead slip away. By the eighth inning, they trailed 8-5. Most teams might crumble there, but not the Buzzers. They chipped away and ended up with one of their best comebacks of the year.

Early on, Easton Shelton got the Buzzers rolling. After Ching-Hsien Ko doubled to start the second, Shelton hammered the first pitch he saw over the left-field fence for his 18th home run this season. That two-run shot put Ontario up 2-0.

They grabbed another run later in the inning: Lake Elsinore’s starter, Bryan Balzer, threw a wild pitch and Brendan Tunink dashed home, pushing the lead to 3-0.

The Buzzers kept it going in the fourth. Conner O'Neal got hit by a pitch, Javier Herrera singled, and then AJ Soldra ripped a two-run single through the left side. Now it was 5-1, and Ontario looked like they had things under control.

But Lake Elsinore had other ideas. The Storm came alive in the bottom of the fourth, scoring four. RBI doubles from Conner Westenburg and Ryan Wideman tied it up, 5-5. After that, the Storm kept pressing. Jorge Quintana drove in the go-ahead run in the sixth, then Lake Elsinore tacked on two more in the seventh. Suddenly, the Buzzers were behind 8-5.

Ontario’s pitchers walked ten batters and gave up eight runs, but the bullpen hung in there, keeping things close enough for the offense to make a move.

That move started in the eighth, even though Ontario didn’t get a hit. Landyn Vidourek and Chase Harlan drew walks, then moved into scoring position on a balk. Ko and Shelton brought them home with back-to-back sacrifice flies. Suddenly, it was 8-7.

In the ninth, the comeback was complete. Herrera walked and moved to second on a passed ball. Soldra smoked a double into right-center, Herrera came charging home, and it was 8-8. Soldra had a monster night, going 3-for-5 and driving in four.

Come the tenth, the Buzzers took advantage of another Storm miscue. Ko started on second as the automatic runner, then scampered home on a wild pitch by Sean Barnett. O’Neal scored too when Soldra bounced an RBI single up the middle. That made it 10-8.

Jecsua Liborius slammed the door from there. He’d already escaped out of a bases-loaded jam in the ninth. In the tenth, with Storm runners threatening, Liborius struck out two straight to end it. Leaving the tying run on second.

Liborius picked up the win with two scoreless innings. Barnett got stuck with the loss.

Shelton finished with three RBIs. Soldra drove in four. The Buzzers only collected seven hits, but they made the most out of ten walks, some smart situational hitting, and a handful of Lake Elsinore mistakes. It all added up to a huge road win against the best in the division.