Storm Magic in the Ninth Help Down Rawhide in Walk-Off Fashion Wednesday
CalL Lake Elsinore Storm

Storm Magic in the Ninth Help Down Rawhide in Walk-Off Fashion Wednesday

Published on April 23, 2026 under California League (CalL)
Lake Elsinore Storm News Release


LAKE ELSINORE, CA - In game two of a six game set, the Storm (8-9) and Rawhide (5-12) were even through four before Visalia scored four in the fifth. Despite the deficit, Lake Elsinore stayed determined and responded in the sixth with two and three in the ninth for the first Diamond Stadium walk-off win of the season in a 8-7 comeback victory.

After a dominant 17-7 win yesterday, the Storm appeared to carry some of that momentum through the first three innings. Lake Elsinore plated one in each thanks to a solo home run from Justin DeCriscio and doubles from Conner Westenburg and Truitt Madonna who both scored on wild pitches. Between the two games, the Storm scored at least one run in nine consecutive innings and 10 of their last 11. On the other side, the Rawhide went scoreless in the first but responded an inning later thanks to a two-run blast from Jose Alpuria. After the Storm tied it in the home half, Visalia scored on an error from first baseman Luke Cantwell.

A scoreless fourth followed but it didn't extend much further. After Jesus A. Castro exited after four innings, Rordy Mejia entered as the first man in relief. The right-handers outing did not go as planned. Kayson Cunningham led off with a single, Carlos Virahonda was then immediately hit by a pitch, and Jose Mejia reached on an error by Jose Verdugo. With the bases loaded and no one out, Mejia allowed two straight RBI singles from Pedro Catuy and Ivan Lucianco. What followed was a wild pitch to score Mejia and a sacrifice fly from Alpuria.

Lake Elsinore cut the deficit to two in the sixth on a two-RBI double from Ryan Wideman, but he was left stranded after immediate fly and groundouts. The Storm had another chance in the seventh after Victor Duarte drew a leadoff walk, but a double-play from Jose Verdugo erased the chance of a rally. The eighth went scoreless after both teams faced the minimum. Lake Elsinore forced another zero in the ninth to give itself a chance for a walk-off win.

It started when Wideman drew a leadoff walk. DeCriscio and Madonna followed it up with two straight singles, the latter of which scored Wideman streaking around third, and before you could blink, it was a one-run game with the winning run on-base. Manager Brallan Perez elected to pull out all the stops and pinch hit Bradley Frye for Duarte. It wound up being a good decision as Frye found a gap on the left side of the infield to turn what was supposed to be a sacrifice bunt into a single to load the bases. Then, Verdugo had his redemption. The second baseman laced a single into left-center to plate the final two runs and give the Storm a dramatic win against the Rawhide.

Lake Elsinore returns to action on Thursday as it faces Visalia for the third game of the series from Diamond Stadium. The Storm will turn to RHP Bryan Balzer (2-0, 3.21 ERA) to face Rawhide RHP Daury Vasquez (0-0, 5.68 ERA). First pitch is scheduled for 6:05 p.m. PT.

Check out the Lake Elsinore Storm Statistics

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California League Stories from April 23, 2026


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