Lake Elsinore Storm Rally Past Visalia Rawhide in Game 5 Thriller

By Larry Belmontes

It was a night of resilience at The Diamond in Lake Elsinore, as the hometown Storm clawed back from two separate deficits to stun the Visalia Rawhide 8-4 in Game 5 of the series.

Rawhide Get Going Early

The Rawhide struck first in the top of the second inning when Yerald Nin ripped a line drive single to left field scoring both Alberto Barriga and Adrian De Leon to put Visalia ahead 2-0. For a while, it looked like the early momentum might be enough.

Storm Answer The Call

Lake Elsinore finally answered in the bottom of the fourth. Lamar King Jr. crossed the plate on an Alex McCoy double to center field cutting the deficit to one. Moments later, B.Y. Choi tied the game at 2-2 with a fly ball single to left, although he was thrown out trying to stretch it into a double.

Visalia Wasn’t Going Away Quietly

Visalia reclaimed the lead in the sixth when Barriga crushed a two run homer over the left field wall scoring Ruben Santana and making it 4-2 Rawhide.

Lake Elsinore didn’t blink

The Storm chipped away in the bottom of the seventh as Zach Evans drilled a ground rule double down the right field line bringing home Colton Vincent to make it a 4-3 game. Then came the decisive eighth inning, where the wheels fell off for Visalia. With one out and the bases loaded, Alex McCoy grounded into a forceout that scored Lamar King Jr. to tie the game at 4-4. Kavares Tears immediately followed with a clutch sacrifice fly to center, scoring Ryan Wilson and giving Lake Elsinore their first lead of the night, 5-4. Kasen Wells then added an infield single to shortstop Adrian Rodriguez plating another run.

The Rawhide’s troubles compounded when a fielding error by Rodriguez allowed two more runs to score, blowing the game wide open at 8-4 and that would be the final score.

On The Mound

Bodi Williams Rascon got the start for Lake Elsinore, and while he gave up the early runs, he stayed composed, picking up key strikeouts along the way. Visalia’s Joangel Gonzalez, a promising young arm out of Venezuela, battled early but couldn’t weather the late Storm surge. The Storm bullpen locked things down in the final frames, striking out four of the last six Rawhide hitters to seal the comeback victory.

Key Stats

Alex McCoy: 2-for-4, 2 RBI, 2 runs

Y. Choi: 2-for-4, 1 RBI, 2 runs

Alberto Barriga (VIS): 2-for-4, HR, 2 RBI

Storm bullpen: 7 strikeouts over final 4 innings

With the win, Lake Elsinore takes control of the series momentum and continues to build chemistry as they inch closer to the season’s midpoint.

Current California League Standings

In the California League South Division, the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes are leading the way with a strong (13-7) record. The Lake Elsinore Storm and Visalia Rawhide are tied for second place, both sitting at (7–13), six games behind the Quakes. Meanwhile, the Inland Empire 66ers are just behind them at (6-14), seven games out of first.

Over in the California League North Division, the Modesto Nuts are setting the pace at (14-5), with the Stockton Ports (12-7) and San Jose Giants (12-8) close behind. The Fresno Grizzlies currently round out the division at (8-12).

The Storm will look to build on tonight’s momentum and start climbing the South Division standings as they head deeper into the season.