Storm offense comes alive again in 14-6 victory

Justin DeCriscio, shown here celebrating a double last week, went one better with a triple on Sunday. (Photo by Action Captures Media Group)

By Timothy J Sheridan: Mayor Pro Tem, Lake Elsinore; Director of Broadcasting, Lake Elsinore Storm

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Special to Elsinore/Menifee 24/7

It is said that the most exciting play in baseball is the triple because it requires raw speed and often daring baserunning to successfully complete.  A close second is the inside-the-park home run for the same reason.  A third is the “pickle” — that happens when a baserunner gets caught between bases and the fielders are tossing the baseball between themselves and attempting to tag the runner out.

When all three, or a close version of all three, happen on the same play – it is excitement overload!  That is exactly what happened at Diamond Stadium on Sunday in the sixth inning of the Lake Elsinore Storm’s 14-6 win over the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes.

In the Storm’s half of the 6th, and with 1 out, SoCal native Justin DeCriscio tripled into left center.  Exciting?  Yes!  But not as exciting as what happened with the next batter.  

With DeCriscio on 3rd base, Houston, Texas native Conner Westenburg stepped into the batter’s box.  After working the count to 2 balls and 2 strikes, Westenburg laced a pitch into left center field that went all the way to the wall. Westenburg, who is very fast, immediately headed to 1st, then 2nd, and then 3rd, and then 15 feet or so past 3rd before putting on the brakes as the throw came to Quakes 3rd baseman Gabriel Davalillo.

Realizing that going back to 3rd base likely would have resulted in being put out, Westenburg instead turned toward home and outran the throw from Davalillo to Quakes catcher Jonathan Linares, scoring the Storm’s 9th run in the process.

After the game, Westenburg said that he was “amped up about the hit.”  That was also true for the 2,352 fans at Diamond Stadium who witnessed it as well. To borrow a well-used term, “The crowd went wild.”

In the end, the Storm’s offense, which had been shut out the previous day, banged out 14 hits, matching its run total.  DeCriscio had 3 hits, Westenburg had 2 hits and 3 runs scored, and 3rd baseman Bradley Frye had 2 hits, including a home run in the second inning and a 2-run double in the 9th.  Frye also scored 3 runs in the game.

Except for giving up 3 runs with 2 outs in the 2nd inning, Storm pitching was good too. Lefty reliever Javier Chacon, who is in his fourth year with the Storm, came out of the bullpen in relief of starter Landry Jurecka in the 4th inning and earned the win with 2.1 innings of work, striking out 2 and giving up just 1 run in the process.

The Storm and Quakes split the series with three wins each.  With the victory, the Storm is now 4-5 on the season and 2 games behind the Cal League South Division-leading Quakes, who are 6-3.

The Storm travel north to Stockton to play the Ports in a six-game series starting on Tuesday.

Lake Elsinore will be back at Diamond Stadium on Tuesday, April 21 to play the Visalia Rawhide.  The game will start at 6:05 pm.  For tickets, visit tickets@stormbaseball.com or visit the Diamond Stadium Box Office prior to the game. The Box Office opens 3 hours before the game.