Storm Fall 5-4 in the series finale

LAKE ELSINORE – “The biggest difference between minor league and college baseball is that here we are attempting to do develop and win because winning is part of development,” said former college coach and current Storm manager Lukas Ray.

“In college, you must win if you want to stay coaching. Here, some days, we are lucky to be able to do both.”

Unfortunately, Sunday wasn’t one of those days when development and winning coincided. The Storm lost 5-4 when the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes pushed across a run in the top of the ninth on what should have been an inning-ending pop-up that fell between third baseman Alain Camou and shortstop Leodalis De Vries.

The mistake was compounded in the bottom of the inning when star prospect De Vries, after notching a one-out single  for his second hit of the day, was promptly picked off first base.

Jacob Campbell grounded out to first base for an unassisted put-out to end the game.

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On the development side, quite a few things went right, namely the pitching performance of starter Isaiah Lowe, who threw six solid innings and retired the last 13 batters he faced after giving up a run in the first and second innings.

“The Quakes kind of came out more aggressive earlier than I thought they would,” said the right-hander. “Once I got my rhythm and started reading their swings better, I just tried working off that, moving the ball around the plate.

“It worked.”

Lowe, 21, worked between 92 and 95 mph with his four-seam fastball and was particularly effective in pairing his fastball with a hard slider and a bigger sweeper to get chases. He struck out seven and only allowed a single walk.

He’s gone at least six innings in four out his five June starts, throwing a total of 29.2 innings. He finished the month with a stellar 1.82 ERA and 35 strikeouts against seven walks, as opponents hit just .193 against him.

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Down 2-0 in the bottom of the sixth, Lake Elsinore staged a rally when Wyatt Hoffman, down 0-2 in the count, worked it back to full before singling up the middle. J.D. Gonzalez hit the first pitch he saw as part of a hit-and-run to put runners on the corners, followed by singles by Jose Sanabria and Chase Valentine to put the home team up 4-2.

Gonzalez, who had already driven in the first two runs of the game with a single, had his second straight two-hit game. It’s been a ramp-up for the 18-year-old catcher who the Padres took in the third round-out of Caguas, Puerto Rico last year.

“This is J.D.’s first time playing five or six times a week – and remember he missed his senior season with a knee injury,” said Ray. “So this is his first time for many things: fans, catching four games a week, traveling, and competing against much older players.

“It’s like what Mike Schildt always says; ‘get better as the game goes on, get better as the month goes on, and get better as the season goes on,’ and we are seeing that with J.D.”

After hitting just .130 in May with a .439 OPS, Gonzalez finished June with a slash line of .264/.349/.302 while cutting his strikeout rate in half.

Behind the plate, he made a solid throw to erase a Quakes baserunner attempting to steal second to end the eighth inning. 

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Lake Elsinore won four of the six games against the Dodgers’ affiliate and will play a rare three-game series at home against Inland Empire starting Monday.