Lake Elsinore Storm Surrender 5 Runs in 7th Inning, Lose to Modesto Nuts

April 22, 2023 – California League (CalL) – Lake Elsinore Storm News Release

In a back-and-forth affair, a massive 7th inning from the Modesto Nuts was the difference on a beautiful Saturday night at The Diamond.

A night after Robby Snelling kept Modesto’s bats quiet, the Nuts jumped out to an early lead against starter Manuel Castro. Castro allowed the first three batters he faced to reach base, all knocking singles into the outfield. In just 10 total pitches, the Nuts were threatening to break the game open early with everyone on base and no outs recorded. Castro did well to bounce back, striking out Josh Hood on four pitches, and forcing Freddy Batista into a force-out. However, putting the ball in play was enough to bring home the first run of the game.

A missed ball by the catcher would allow the second run to score and finalize the number of runs Manuel Castro would allow through three innings pitched. In fact, the three hits to begin the game were also the only ones he would give up in his appearance while striking out one and allowing a singular walk.

It would take a while but the Storm would finally respond in the bottom of the 4th. Tyler Robertson first reached base after taking the second pitch he saw off of his side. After two consecutive flyouts, the hope of a rally seemed unlikely but a double by Anthony Vilar would quickly score Robertson who stole second base during the at bat. Griffin Doersching would then send a baseball to deep left field for his first home run of the season to give the Storm their first lead of the night.

DO YOUR THING, Doersching!!#StormTheLake pic.twitter.com/6HptWE5vQW

– Lake Elsinore Storm Baseball (@Storm_Baseball) April 23, 2023 Javier Chacon would enter the game in relief and ultimately give up the lead in a wobbly 5th inning. It began with a hits batman to the first batter of the inning, a walk to the third, and a single to the fourth. This was enough to tie the game and he would walk one additional batter before striking out the final two batters he faced.

The main damage came in the top of the 7th inning. With Dylan Nedved navigating through his second inning of work, after forcing a groundout to Curtis Washington Jr, a single from Gabe Moncada brought Josh Hood to the plate who hit his 6th double of the season. A Batista triple would clear the bases and snatch the two-run lead. Three consecutive hits and two doubles would balloon the lead to five, matching the number of runs scored in the inning.

The Storm…