VISALIA – The Rawhide’s first series since the All-Star break did not disappoint. Each of its four games were decided in the late innings with Visalia winning three of them over Lake Elsinore. On Saturday and Sunday nights they won back-to-back games by the same score over the Storm 4-3.
Sunday night’s game which clinched the series for Visalia wasn’t decided until the sixth inning when they took advantage of a
Lake Elsinore error. The Storm’s Allen Cordoba slipped while attempting to throw out Camden Buzenack allowing him to reach safely. After that Adam Walton and Raymel Flores hit back-to-back singles to score Buzenack, who represented the game winning run 4-3.
The Rawhide went with Riley Smith on the mound. Through six innings he allowed three runs on four hits. He had seven strikeouts and a pair of walks. All-in-all it was a quality start from the beginning which earned him the win. He set down six Storm batters in a row and only allowed two base runners through the first fourth innings. One hit came in the first inning off a single. The other was off an error.
For the second straight night the Rawhide accumulated ten hits in a win and the third game of the series. Nine different batters recorded hits which Marcus Wilson, Drew Ellis, and Adam Walton had multiple hits. Their loss on Friday has them one game out of first place in the North Division behind the Stockton Ports.
Visalia hit the road earlier this week for a four-game road trip. They will face the Inland Empire through Thursday.
