Storm Walk Off Tower Buzzers, 5-4, to Take Series
Lake Elsinore, Calif. — The Ontario Tower Buzzers were just three outs away from wrapping up a win on Sunday night, but things fell apart in the ninth. Lake Elsinore rallied for two runs, walked it off 5-4 at The Diamond, and wrapped up the six-game series, four games to
Lake Elsinore, Calif. — The Ontario Tower Buzzers were just three outs away from wrapping up a win on Sunday night, but things fell apart in the ninth. Lake Elsinore rallied for two runs, walked it off 5-4 at The Diamond, and wrapped up the six-game series, four games to two.
Ontario came out swinging. Oswaldo Osorio set the tone early, smashing a three-run homer in the first inning, his ninth this year. He finished with two hits and drove in three runs. The Buzzers jumped ahead 3-0, but Lake Elsinore didn’t go quietly.
Marlon Nieves tried to hold the lead, but Dawson Willis took him deep in the third, knotting the score at 3-3. Nieves settled down after that, throwing five innings, giving up five hits and three runs, walking three while striking out five.
The Buzzers grabbed the lead right back in the fourth. Brendan Tunink doubled and came around to score on a fielder’s choice by Abel Lorenzo. From then on, though, the Buzzers just couldn’t find another big hit. They went 2-for-12 with runners in scoring position and left nine men stranded, including several golden chances late. Ontario also grounded into two double plays.
The bullpen did its job for a while. Ian May breezed through the sixth, Jose Vasquez tossed a scoreless seventh, and Jecsua Liborius set down the side in order in the eighth, striking out two.
But the bottom of the ninth was a different story. Jesmaylin Arias walked to start it off, and Qrey Lott came in to pinch-run. He immediately stole second. Yimy Tovar walked, and then the Storm pulled off a double steal. When catcher Francisco Espinoza threw the ball away, Lott scored to tie it up and Tovar moved to third.
Liborius punched back with two big strikeouts, leaving Ontario one out short of forcing extras. But pinch-hitter Nu’u Contrades ended it with a line drive to left-center, scoring Tovar and handing Ontario another tough loss.
The Buzzers managed seven hits, Joendry Vargas collected two, with Tunink and Espinoza each doubling, and Javier Herrera chipping in a base knock. Ontario committed two errors, as did Lake Elsinore. The bullpen was sharp up until that final inning, tossing three scoreless frames before the collapse.
After winning the first two games, the Buzzers dropped the next four. Now they head home looking to regroup after a rough finish to the trip.
Follow the Ontario Tower Buzzers on:
● Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/towerbuzzers/
● Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Towerbuzzers
● LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/towerbuzzers/
● TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@towerbuzzers
● X: https://x.com/towerbuzzers
Media Contacts:
Adam Serrano
Regional Marketing Director
Diamond Baseball Holdings
Jeff Woolson
Play-by-Play Broadcaster