Lake Elsinore Storm Baseball Wins 2022 California League Championship

LAKE ELSINORE, CA — The Lake Elsinore Storm minor league baseball team won the California State Championship Tuesday, completing its 4-0 playoff run.

The Single-A minor league affiliate for the San Diego Padres, the Lake Elsinore Storm defeated the Fresno Grizzlies, the Colorado Rockies affiliate, with a 3-2 win.

The Storm ended the season with a nine-game winning streak, according to a recent news release report from Justin Jett.

The victory marks Storm Baseball's fourth league championship win and third championship as a Padres affiliate, according to the organization. It’s the team’s first championship win since 2011.

Lake Elsinore Storm pitcher Victor Lizarraga started the final game in the series, and pitcher Duncan Snider closed out the nine-inning game.

The Padres’ top prospect Jackson Merrill earned two hits and Jakob Marsee drove in two runs, including the winning run on a two-out RBI single in the seventh inning, according to MLB.com.

Lizarraga, a San Diego native, pitched a complete game of just over seven innings while only giving up one earned run and striking out ten Fresno batters, MLB reported.

Snider, the six-foot-five Iowa native signed as a free agent in August, held the one-run lead through the ninth inning. He closed out the Grizzlies with the bases loaded, according to Jett.
Snider’s final pitch resulted in a fly ball to center field, cementing the Lake Elsinore Storm's position as the California League champions for 2022.

“Thank god for a full season injury-free!” Lizarraga wrote on Twitter. “Thanks to all the people back home in Tijuana cheering on me on my best and worst games no matter what and for this team making this season one to remember.”

Read the full account on the last game of the Lake Elsinore Storm Championship Series.