This was the second game of our championship doubleheader at the beautiful Storm Stadium in Lake Elsinore. It was a clear, but hot afternoon as we approached the 1pm start of this AAA Championship. The visiting team were the defending champions; the #2-seeded Aftershock, versus the top-seeded Newport Storm, who were undefeated until the final week of the regular season. This matchup between two powerhouse ball clubs had all the makings of a classic championship rumble; so without further delay ...... let's get to the action!
The Aftershock waste no time in showing us why they are the defending champions. Jonathan Arana draws a 1-out walk to become the first Aftershock base runner of the day. The next batter would ground out, sending up Elvis Nelson with 2 out and 1 on. He doubles off the right-center field wall to score Arana from 2nd. Shortstop Andy Flores responds with an RBI single of his own. The next batter is Alex Anguiano who rips a shot down the 3rd base line for a single. Chris Haddad comes to the plate with 2-out and runners at the corners. He slaps a single to right-center field to score another run. The Aftershock get 4 straight base hits in the inning; producing 3 runs to jump out to the early lead.
The Storm lead things off with Trevor Davidson who draws a walk. He is followed by Ruckey McKinley who singles to right. The next batter is A.C. Girable who rips a double over the head of the left fielder and against the wall, scoring a pair. The Storm settle for 2 runs in the inning to cut the deficit to one, trailing 3-2.
This contest would remain locked at 3-2 as we moved into the bottom of the 5th inning.
The Storm still trail by a single run and have to get something going. With 1 out in the inning, Rawall Macintosh doubles down the 3rd base line and into the corner. He advances to 3rd on a throwing error. The next batter is Adam Reeves who draws a walk to put runners at the corners for Robert Cruz. He triples down the left field line and into the corner to score Macintosh and Reeves. Tim Mahler follows with a shot down the 3rd base line which is just fair, scoring a run. The Storm get 3 big runs in the inning and now lead the defending champs by a score of 5-3 through 5 complete innings of play.
The score would remain 5-3 Storm as we entered the top of the 8th inning. The Aftershock come to bat with a true sense of urgency; needing to get the upper hand soon if they are going to retain their title. The first two batters would be retired, sending Jonathan Arana to the plate with 2 out. He reaches base safely due to a throwing error on the 1st baseman. The next batter is Isidro Perez, who doubles down the right field line and in the corner to score Arana. The Aftershock settle for the single run in the inning and now trail by a run, down 5-4.
The Storm start things off in the bottom of the 8th with pinch hitter Jake Wilt, who hits a slow-roller on the third base side which is mis-played by the 3rd baseman. With Wilt on 1st, the next batter would ground out, bringing up pinch hitter Rolando Ramirez with 1 out and Wilt on 2nd. Ramirez doubles to left center, scoring Jake Wilt from 2nd. The Storm get back the run they gave up in the top of the inning and re-capture the 2-run lead, now up by a score of 6-4 through 8 complete.
The Aftershock would come up in the top of the 9th inning; looking for some last-minute heroics. It would not be the case, as their last 3 batters of the day would ground out; to officially hand over their title as PCBL Spring Champions to the new owner ... the 2009 Newport Storm. Congratulations to the Aftershock for a great season effort to get back into the big game ..... and to the 2009 O.C. Spring Champion Newport Storm for a great season and a well fought Championship victory!
GAME STATS
Game Time: 1:10 pm - 4:15 pm (3 hours, 5 mins)
Offensive Stars:
A.C. Girable (Storm) 1 for 2; Double, Walk, 2 RBI's
Robert Cruz (Storm) 1 for 3; Triple, 2 RBI's
Tim Mahler (Storm) 1 for 3; single, RBI
Jake Wilt (Storm) 1 for 1; single, RBI
Box Score R H E
Aftershock 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 4 6 2
Newport Storm 2 0 0 0 3 0 0 1 - 6 6 1
Umpires
Bases: Eddie Garcia
Plate: Lavel Bowen
Pitching Stats:
WP: Jerry Lehman (Storm) 6 IP / Allowed 3 runs on 5 hits; walked 3 and struck out 1
LP: Dusty Gober (Aftershock) 8 IP / Allowed 6 runs on 6 hits; walked 4 and struck out 3
RP: Josh Grady Storm) 2 IP / Allowed 1 run (unearned) on 1 hit; walked 0 and struck out 3
RP: Keith Demorgrandie (Storm) 1 IP / Allowed 0 runs on 0 hits; no walks or strikeouts
