Storm Aim For Cal League Title, Face San Jose In Game 1 Today

The Lake Elsinore Storm are looking to add another California League championship to their trophy case.

The Storm host the San Jose Giants on Sunday at 4:35 p.m. at The Diamond in Game 1 of the best-of-three Cal League Championship Series. Game 2 will be in San Jose on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m., while Game 3, if necessary, is Wednesday at 6:30 p.m.

Right-hander Tyler Schmitt will start for the Storm. The 22-year-old has a 4.76 ERA with a 12.7% walk rate and 24.4% strikeout rate in 23 games. He finished with 106 strikeouts. He did not pitch in the South Division Series.

The Storm won the first-half South Division title, then finished last in the second half. Still, they swept the Ontario Tower Buzzers, a Los Angeles Dodgers affiliate who won the second half. The Giants present a much bigger task. San Jose won both halves of the North Division and then swept the Stockton Ports in the Division Series. The Storm and Giants also met a few weeks ago, with the Giants winning all six games of the series as part of a 20-2 finish to the regular season.

The Storm last won the Cal League title in 2022 and lost in the Championship Series in 2024 to the Modesto Nuts. The Giants are in the postseason for the seventh straight season and are led by the San Francisco Giants' No. 1 prospect, shortstop Josuar Gonzalez. He slashed .357/.444/.566 with three homers, 35 RBIs and 13 steals in 31 games with San Jose. The Giants led the Cal League in runs scored this season.

The Storm offense had a good Division Series with a 10-9 victory in Game 1 and 6-1 triumph in the clincher. Sixth-round draft pick Nu'u Contrades went 5-for-7 with a double and two RBIs, while fourth-rounder Alex Conover went 5-for-8 with two doubles and three RBIs. The Game 2 starter for the Storm is likely to be right-hander Jesus Castro, who turned in a strong performance in Game 1 of the Division Series.