LANCASTER – Lancaster’s struggles against Lake Elsinore continued Friday night at The Hangar, as the Storm defeated the JetHawks, 12-4, in the opener of a crucial four-game series.

The Storm scored 11 runs over the first three innings and did not look back. A crowd of 3,666 came out to see the JetHawks play as El Viento one final time in 2019.

Lucas Gilbreath (4-10) was unable to get through three innings as the Storm (33-27, 68-60) used a pair of big innings to build an early lead.

Lee Solomon got the Storm on the board with a grand slam for his first Cal League home run. Luis Campusano, co-MVP of the circuit, added a two-run shot of his own later in the inning.

The Storm added five more runs in the third inning. Gilbreath allowed 10 runs on nine hits in 2.2 innings and the JetHawks trailed, 11-0, at the start of the fourth.

The JetHawks (31-29, 65-63) had 12 hits, but 11 were singles. Taylor Snyder’s RBI double in the fourth inning was the team’s lone extra-base hit in the contest.

Sam Williams (1-0) earned his first Cal League win in relief, getting five outs behind starter Osvaldo Hernandez. The Storm staff combined to strike out 14 batters while only walking one in the contest.

Lake Elsinore has won three in a row over the JetHawks at The Hangar, and the Storm have combined to score 39 runs over those contests. They lead the JetHawks by three games in the standings with 10 games left. Lancaster has hope as seven of those games are against the Storm.

Here’s the box score.

The four-game series continues Saturday night. Will Gaddis (10-7) will try to right the ship for the JetHawks against Storm lefty Joey Cantillo (1-1). First pitch at The Hangar is 6:05 pm.

JetHawks single-game tickets, group tickets, ticket packages and season tickets are on sale now. Visit jethawks.com or call 661-726-5400 for more information.