The Visalia Rawhide put six runs on the board in the second inning Saturday night to get out to a big lead, then held on for an 11-10 win over the Storm at Lake Elsinore. 1B Elian Miranda went 2-for-5 and belted his ninth home run to lead the offense as the Rawhide won for the third time in four games.
The six-run inning saw Visalia draw six walks along with two singles and a Miranda double. Lake Elsinore starter Jairo Iriarte was chased after just 10 batters, having allowed the first six hitters of the second inning to reach base without recording an out.
The Storm pushed a run across in the bottom of the second inning with two singles and a groundout as they began to chip away for the rest of the game. Visalia added two runs in the fourth inning, but when Lake Elsinore did the same, it made the score 8-5, as they had now scored in three straight innings.
Robert Hassell III singled in a run for the Storm in the bottom of the sixth to make it 8-6, Visalia. The Rawhide answered in the seventh with Miranda’s two-run shot and an RBI single by SS Ronny Simon, pushing the lead to 11-6.
Back came Lake Elsinore with two in the eighth to make it 11-8. Visalia gifted three base runners on walks and Hassell III brought in one run on a groundout. C Brandon Valenzuela singled in the other.
Nothing has come easy for the Rawhide this year and the bottom of the ninth saw plenty of drama. A two-out double by Storm SS Euribiel Angeles brought in two runs to make it 11-10 before Emmanuel Acosta induced a groundout by Hassell III to end it.
The Rawhide have won three of the five games in the series and six of their last 11.
Simon was 2-for-2 with three walks and a double. RF Glenallen Hill Jr. had two hits, including a triple, and is 7 for his last 21 over four games. For the month of August, Hill Jr. is slashing .314/.386/.529.
Valenzuela was 2-for-3 with two walks. In August he is 9-for-21 and is batting .429/.571/.571 with six walks and two strikeouts.
Lake Elsinore DH Colton Bender had two more hits and is 11-for-22 since joining the Storm on August 7th. Angeles was 3-for-4 with a double and three walks.
SCOREBOARD
RANCHO CUCAMONGA – 7
INLAND EMPIRE – 4
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RANCHO CUCAMONGA – 6
INLAND EMPIRE -3
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Double-header sweep + San Jose loss bring Rancho Cucamonga to within 3 1/2 games of the second playoff spot
MODESTO – 5
SAN JOSE – 4
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STOCKTON – 1
FRESNO – 8
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