Powerful Storm blows away JetHawks

The teams combined for 21 hits, five homers and six errors as Lake Elsinore scored four times in the ninth for the win

By DAVE RASBACH
Valley Press Staff Writer

LANCASTER - Cal League baseball is alive and well.

All it takes is the two highest scoring teams in the league and an assist from the High Desert Winds to get things going.

In a year when chilly temperatures and stronger pitching staffs have kept team batting averages and scoring down, Lake Elsinore and Lancaster treated the 3,613 in attendance at Lancaster Municipal Stadium Thursday to a Cal League offensive showing reminiscent of games from years past. The Storm was the last team standing in the 12-9 shootout.

When all the dust had settled, the two teams had combined for 21 hits, including five home runs as the lead changed hands four times. Unfortunately, there were also six errors and 17 walks.

"I thank God we won," Lake Elsinore manager Mario Mendoza said. "It seemed like neither team wanted it. But I'm sure it was an exciting game for the fans because it was back and forth."

Lake Elsinore overcame five errors and 13 runners left on base by scoring four runs in the top of the ninth inning, erasing the JetHawks' 9-8 lead. Lake Elsinore grabbed its 12th win in its last 15 games, while Lancaster missed an opportunity to move above .500 for the first time since April 6.

Lancaster's Aaron Scheffer (2-1) came in with a runner on second base and one out in the frame. He struck out David Davalillo for the second out, but Greg Morris sent a broken-bat single over the infield to score Jeff Guiel and tie the game.

"He made an excellent pitch to that guy," JetHawks pitching coach Jim Slaton said. "Half his bat is laying in the field."

The Storm took the lead when Shawn Wooten doubled in Morris. Steve Hagins' double added two insurance runs.

That inning made Karl Thompson's sacrifice fly, which scored Michael Moore in the bottom of the eighth inning, meaningless.

Even with 21 runs scored in the slugfest, both teams got off to slow starts. Morris drew a two-out walk in the first inning, but was the only runner to reach base for either team in the inning.

But that was just the calm before the storm.

Lake Elsinore opened the top of the second with consecutive doubles from Wooten and Hagins off Lancaster starter Rafael Carmona. That started a string of nine consecutive half innings with at least one run scored.

Brendan Kingman got the JetHawks on the board with a leadoff home run in the bottom of the second, but Lake Elsinore's Larry Barnes crushed the first of his two home runs to make the score 3-1.

Cirilo Cruz's RBI single in the bottom of the third tied the score, but it didn't stay tied long. Lindsay Gulin, who was making his JetHawks debut after being traded to the Mariners for Rick Wilkins, surrendered a bases-loaded walk. He got out of the jam without further damage by getting Morris to fly out to left field.

Gulin had a rough first outing. He tied the Lancaster team record with six walks issued in his 1 2/3 innings of work.

"It's tough getting traded and pitching for a new team," Slaton said. "I'm sure next time, we'll see a different pitcher."

Gulin wasn't the only JetHawks pitcher to struggle Thursday. Lancaster finished with 14 walks - tying the team record set May 29, 1997 at Visalia.

Lancaster still led 8-7 after the fifth inning thanks to a throwing error by Davalillo that allowed two runs to score in the fourth and Luis Tinoco's three-run homer in the fifth.

But Barnes tied the game with his second solo homer in the sixth. That's where it stayed until Thompson sacrificed in Moore.