During the fifth week of the season the Storm played the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes for four games and Island Empire 66er’s for three games. They were the winning team in 6 of 7 of those games.

Nick Schmidt pitched 7 shutout innings in the first game against the 66, allowing 3 hits and 0 runs with 4 SO. He lowered his ERA to 3.76 and earns the pitcher of the week honors with his effort.

Brad Brach, the Storm closer, put forth another flawless week. He collected 4 more saves in 4 attempts, increasing his total to 14 for the season. He continues to lead the league in that category with only one blown save for the season.

Nick Schmidt

With these two series the Storm increased their Cal league record to 22-13, best in the South.

Many players stepped up their games during this past week and choosing a player of the week was not an easy task. As a result, the following is a list of the players in consideration with their achievements listed.

Drew Cumberland:  .394   12 hits in 33 at bats, 6 runs scored, 1 double, 1 triple and 5 RBI, 4 SB

Cole Figueroa:  .326  10 hits in 28 at bats,  8 runs scored, double, triple,  2 RBI

Vince Belnome: .281  9 hits in 21 at bats, 4 runs, 3 doubles, triple, 6 RBI

Cody Decker: .293   10 hits in 22 at bats,  6 runs, 3 doubles,  3 HR,  7 RBI

Drew’s average actually dropped over the last week (.408) but his contributions continue to be very impressive. Based on numbers alone,  Cody Decker wins the player of the week with Vince Belnome a close second.

The team also turned in a strong defensive week with only 3 scattered errors made during the games. Many of the starting pitchers are starting to go deeper into games with Anthony Bass and Nick Schmidt both pitching 7 strong innings in their games (4.17 and 3.76 ERA, respectively). Erik Davis and Jorge Reyes are also working on stretching out their outings and both did well over 5-6 innings pitched with Davis notching 8 SO in his effort.

Lake Elsinore continues their impressive play and is currently the most successful team in the minor leagues. Many on this team were members of last years Tin Caps and have championship rings to prove it. It appears, early in the season, that they are trying for another.