​The San Diego Padres’ Low-A affiliate, Lake Elsinore Storm, pummeled their way to the California League Championship on the backs of their newest players, with some assistance from some of their other highly ranked young prospects.After struggling through most of the second half of the season, the Storm put on a postseason surge after suffering an 11-game losing streak during the last three weeks of the season. There was a hint of the turnaround during the last week of the regular season when Lake Elsinore finished with a winning series against Inland Empire, showing increased effectiveness on both offense and with their pitching.After going 39-30 in the first half of the year, winning a spot in the playoffs, the Storm finished the second half with a 27-35 record and barely had a winning season at 66-65. Their first-half success was fueled by multiple players who earned themselves promotion to Single-A Fort Wayne. The Storm players that were promoted to Lake Elsinore from the Arizona Complex League were not able to sustain that success.On Aug. 4, the Padres organization started adding the newly signed 2026 draft picks to the Lake Elsinore roster. Over the course of the month, outfielder Alex Conover (4th round), infielder Nu’u Contrades (6th round), infielder Elliot Lascelles (2nd round), C/1B/DH Augie Lopez (10th round), and infielder Joe Tiroly (7th round) all made their professional debuts.They joined infielder Dawson Willis, who was promoted from the ACL when that league finished but had been injured and was activated shortly before their arrival. It took most of August and into September for the new Storm teammates to adjust to the major changes in the roster. Their prolonged and frequent losses attest to the time it took for them all to become a cohesive team.Divisional playoffsThe Ontario Tower Buzzers (Dodgers) were the first to discover the Storm had found their footing. After dominating the second half, Ontario finished 10 games over .500. Playing a divisional playoff series, the Storm swept the best-of-three by winning the first two games. RHP Jesus Castro, 19, had a stellar start in the first game, with six innings of two-hit and one-run ball. The pitching staff had been reinforced at the beginning of September with some more 2026 signees, including lefty relievers Rob Evans (12th round) and Andrew Wright (UDFA), both contributing. LF Conover went 4-for-5 with two RBI, and DH Contrades had three hits in four at-bats. 1B Joe Tiroly went 1-for-4 with two RBI.In their clinching game on Sept. 10, LHP Kruz Schoolcraft had his best outing of the year. Finishing five innings, Schoolcraft allowed two hits and no runs with eight strikeouts. He was followed by 2026 first-rounder Coleman Borthwick, whom the Padres sent to Lake Elsinore from their Bridge League to pitch in the playoffs. The 18-year-old, who tops out his fastball in the high-90’s, threw two innings of two-hit ball, allowing a run with two walks and four strikeouts, making h