Storm Roll To Victory over Modesto

Brendan Durfee has added power from the left side for Lake Elsinore. (Photo: Robert Escalante)

LAKE ELSINORE – The Storm scored five two-out runs in the second inning to put the game out of reach early and cruised to a 6-3 victory in front of an energized Friday night crowd.

Lake Elsinore won the first-half division title and are on the verge of clinching the second-half crown as well, but the players on the field doing it have nearly completely turned over. Of the nine batters in the lineup Friday night, only Braedon Karpathios was on the roster to celebrate when the club claimed a playoff spot.

Through all the turnover, the Storm’s offense has been one of the circuit’s most productive, ranking second with 717 runs, fueled by the highest walk total and third-lowest strikeout rate in the Cal League.

The big inning Friday encapsulated what the club has done well all year. With two outs, B.Y. Choi lined a 105 mph screamer off Nuts pitcher Pedro Lemos. The Padres’ 17th-rounder Ryan Jackson followed with a walk before Colton Vincent pulled a run-scoring single to left.

Kai Roberts followed with the second of his three hits on the night, and when the throw in from right field got away from the first base cutoff man, Jackson advanced to score the go-ahead run. Lamar King Jr. followed with another walk to load the bases before Brendan Durfee launched a line drive double deep into center field to clear them. The inning came to an end when Sean Barnett scalded a 108 mph liner that Tai Peete was able to corral.

“We just try to keep it rolling,” said manager Lukas Ray. “[Durfee’s double] was pretty much the biggest blow of the night. He uses the opposite field really well and he barrels the baseball.”

The outburst gave righty Alejandro Lugo the opportunity to bounce back from a giving up a run in the first after a leadoff walk. The 22-year-old righty, who was making his first professional start, got through four innings without allowing another run to score.

“Lugo’s phenomenal,” said Ray. “The clubhouse loves him and our staff loves him. The competitive aspect of Alejandro, there’s not a doubt that when he goes out there, he’s going to find a way.”

He had to work around trouble in the third when a pair of infield singles and a walk loaded the bases with two outs, but he got a pop up to end the threat. He then came back with a quick fourth inning to work longer than he had all year.

“What [Durfee] did with Lugo tonight, helping him settle down and find a way to get through the first half of the game was thoroughly impressive,” said Ray.

The Storm added on in the fourth when Jackson drew his second of three walks on the night. Roberts followed with an opposite-field double and King laced an RBI single up the middle.

Kleiber Olmedo has shown some building blocks for development. (Photo: Robert Escalante)

Kleiber Olmedo relieved Lugo and worked three innings, allowing a pair of runs on three hits over three innings. The slightly-built righty, who turned 20 last week, struck out four in the game and now has 13 in 13.2 innings since joining the Storm. The Venezuela native opened his first year in the U.S. in the ACL, flashing a fastball that can touch 95 and a slider and changeup that play off each other well.

Righty Xavier Ruiz finished off the victory with a perfect ninth that included a pair of strikeouts. Working from a high three-quarters release, Ruiz gets nasty movement on his sinker and slider. The 21-year-old picked up several saves early, but has stepped fully into the closer role in the second half. He’s taken to it well, not allowing an earned run over his last 13 innings of work. He’s given up just four hits while posting an 18-4 strikeout-to-walk ratio in that stretch.

NOTES: Shortstop Leodalis De Vries was taking grounders in pregame work, but hasn’t progressed to making any throws since injuring his right shoulder two weeks ago. He’s started to hit in the cage from the left side but has yet to take any on-field swings. The 17-year-old could begin throwing next week and there’s an outside chance he could be available if the Storm advance to the second round of the playoffs.