Blaze Become North First Half Champs with 8-7 Win

The Bakersfield Blaze locked up a trip to the postseason on Saturday night in Rancho Cucamonga, beating the host Quakes 8-7 in a thrilling ballgame and clinching the Northern Division First Half title in the process.

With both starting pitchers dealing with strike zone confusion, walks piled up early.

Rancho spot-starter Geoff Brown (L, 1-4) walked two in the 1st inning, but the Blaze capitalized for just one run, taking a quick 1-0 lead.

Ben Lively (W, 10-1) walked two in the home half of the 1st in a rare twist, and Rancho was able to come up with two runs, going up 2-1.

After the Blaze grounded into a second double play in as many innings, the Quakes added a third run in the 2nd, taking an early 3-1 lead.

The Blaze punched back in the 3rd. Three walks loaded the bases, and Juan Perez cleared them with a triple off the top of the right field wall. An error scored Perez, and the Blaze went on top, 5-3.

After Lively appeared to settle in a bit with a scoreless 3rd, the Blaze added two more in the 4th, and loud runs. With a runner aboard, Jesse Winker hit a colossal drive to center, clearing the 401-foot wall by a large margin, and his homer put the Blaze up 7-3.

A Rancho error led to the eighth Blaze run in the 5th, but the Quakes would not go quietly.

Aaron Miller was a one-man wrecking crew for the home team, slugging a homer in the 5th to cut the Blaze lead to 8-4.

Lively departed after five innings, and the Blaze bullpen struggled before locking things down. Jimmy Moran allowed two singles in the 6th, still leading 8-4, and Rancho ultimately faced three pitchers in the inning, scoring twice while leaving the bases loaded.

But Ben Klimesh proved to be the key stopper. Ben went 2.1 innings of scoreless relief, getting the ball to closer Carlos Gonzalez (S, 13), who allowed his first run all season on Miller's second homer of the night, but got the final out, striking out the side in the 9th, and sending the Blaze to the Northern Division First Half Title!

The Blaze celebrated on the field, but will have to gather their composure for a 2:05pm contest on Sunday afternoon in Rancho. Wandy Peralta gets the nod for the Blaze, who have locked up a postseason berth with 76 games left in the regular season.

The Sunday broadcast will be available on internet only, as Dan Besbris brings the call with pregame show five minutes before first pitch.