A Strong 7th Inning Results In A Game 4 Victory For The Storm

By Larry Belmontes

The Lake Elsinore Storm relied on timely hitting and consistent pitching to pull away late for a 7-2 victory over the Visalia Rawhide on Friday night at The Diamond. The win marks the Storm’s first of the current homestand against the Rawhide.

Early Pitching Duel Sets the Tone

Early on, it looked like fans were in for a tense, low scoring game. Both starters, Tucker Noah Musgrove for Lake Elsinore and Adonys Wilfrido Perez for Visalia came out sharp recording strikeouts to keep the offenses quiet through the first two innings.

Musgrove, a 7th round pick of the Padres last year, showed strong command, collecting key strikeouts against Ruben Santana, Alberto Barriga, and Yerald Nin to navigate the early frames.

Storm Strike First with Hollow’s Homer

The Storm finally broke through in the bottom of the third! After battling through two outs, Kaden Hollow delivered, launching his first home run of the year, a no-doubter to right center, to put Lake Elsinore up 1-0. That shot immediately swung the win probability in the Storm’s favor, giving them a 63.8% chance to take the W at that point.

Rawhide Respond Quickly

In the top of the fourth, Alberto Barriga lined a single into right field, bringing home Yassel Soler to tie the game. Moments later, Adrian De Leon came through with a clutch two out single to score Barriga, flipping the score to 2-1 in Visalia’s favor. Momentum was slipping away from the Storm but they had a quick answer.

Wilson’s Big Night Levels It Again

The bottom half of the fourth saw Ryan Wilson step up with Lamar King Jr. in scoring position. Wilson smoked a double into left field, tying the game at 2-2 and bringing the home crowd back into it. Wilson wasn’t done. In the fifth, he added a triple to his growing stat line, bringing home Zach Evans and putting the Storm back ahead 3-2. Wilson’s huge night at the plate ended up being one of the major turning points of the game.

Defensive Highlights Keep It Tight

Visalia had chances to respond, but the Storm defense came up big. In the sixth inning, Ryan Jackson turned a slick unassisted double play to kill a Rawhide rally attempt, and in the seventh, the Storm cut down a runner at the plate on a fielder’s choice to maintain their slim lead.

Seventh-Inning Eruption Breaks it Open

The bottom of the seventh is where Lake Elsinore blew the game wide open! With two outs, Yendry Rojas ripped a double into left field, bringing home two runs to stretch the Storm’s lead to 5-2. Just one batter later, Alex McCoy crushed his second homer of the season, a two-run shot to left, and suddenly it was 7-2 Lake Elsinore!

Closing it Down

The Storm’s bullpen slammed the door, highlighted by a final strikeout of Yassel Soler to end the game. Overall, Lake Elsinore racked up 10 strikeouts on the night, and outside of the shaky fourth inning, held Visalia’s bats largely in check.

Despite the win, the Storm still trail 1-3 in the series, but Friday night’s performance was a big step toward making it a competitive set as they head into the weekend.

Current California League Standings

In the Cal South division, the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes remain firmly on top at (12-7) after an 8-2 win over Inland Empire tonight. With Visalia’s loss to the Storm, they fall to (7-12). Lake Elsinore, now at (6-13), moves into a tie with Inland Empire for third place.

In the Cal North division, the Modesto Nuts extended their lead to two games with a 3-2 victory over Stockton, improving to (14-5). The Stockton Ports drop to (12-7), holding second place. Meanwhile, the San Jose Giants crushed Fresno 17-0, boosting their record to (11-8). Fresno now sits at (8-11) at the bottom of the North standings.