Quakes Win Wild One in Walk-Off Fashion
Rancho Cucamonga, CA - In a wild, back-and-forth affair on Tuesday night, Rancho Cucamonga walked off against Lake Elsinore in eleven innings by a 6-5 final. James Baldwin's RBI single in the bottom of the 11th gave the Quakes their first victory of the season against the Storm at LoanMart Field.
Tied at five in the bottom of the 11th, Lake Elsinore reliever Roman Madrid (2-1, 2.25) walked Steven Proscia to lead off the frame. Jeremy Rathjen sacrificed him to second base, setting the table for James Baldwin. Baldwin stroked the 1-0 pitch to center field for an RBI single. Proscia scored the winning run, and Rancho Cucamonga (17-2, 49-40) rushed the field to celebrate.
Baldwin had a big day offensively for Rancho. With the game tied 2-2 in the seventh, Baldwin crushed a Matthew Shepherd offering to right-center field to give Rancho a one-run lead. It was the ninth homer of the year for Baldwin.
It looked like the lead would hold for the Rancho despite some adversity in the ninth inning. With nobody out, the Storm had men on second and third base against Quakes' closer Rob Rogers. Corey Seager made a leaping catch on a Benji Gonzalez line drive to record the first out of the inning, and Rogers struck out Diego Goris on three pitches. Needing one more out to seal the deal, Rogers got Dane Phillips to bounce one towards second base. Adam Law fielded it and threw to first, but Phillips was ruled safe and Alberth Martinez scored the tying run.
On the play, Quakes' manager P.J. Forbes and pitcher Rob Rogers were ejected for arguing with the umpiring crew. On the night, two Quakes' players (Corey Seager and Rob Rogers) and two coaches (P.J. Forbes and Matt Herges) were thrown out of the game.
Lake Elsinore (12-7, 52-37) added on later in the inning. Gabriel Quintana's two-run double off of Yasmanys Fernandez put the Storm up 5-3.
Down by two, the Quakes were able to rally in the bottom of the ninth. Steven Proscia and Jeremy Rathjen walked to open up the frame, but Storm closer Brandon Alger struck out James Baldwin and Rob Garvey to follow. With two outs, Adam Law blooped a single to center field that scored Proscia and moved Rathjen to third. With men on the corners and Corey Seager at the plate, Alger balked Rathjen home to tie the game at five. Seager would strike out looking with the winning run in scoring position, but Rancho had forced extras.
The win was Rancho's first of the year at LoanMart Field against the Storm in eight tries. It was also the Quakes' sixth walk-off victory, and their first of the Second Half. Since the All-Star Break, Rancho is 6-0 in one-run games.
With the win, Rancho improved to 17-2 in the Second Half and moved five games head of second-place Lake Elsinore in the standings.
The series continues on Wednesday morning. Lindsey Caughel (5-3, 3.41) looks to continue his excellent Second Half against Lake Elsinore righty Joe Ross (8-4, 3.73). First pitch is at 10:35 am on Summer Camp Day and the game will be broadcast live on Fox Sports AM 1350 starting with the LoanMart Pregame Report at 10:20 am.
Wednesday is Summer Camp Day at LoanMart Field! Local campers will get to enjoy fun, games, and some morning baseball between the Quakes and Storm. Tickets are still available by calling (909) 481-5000 or online at rcquakes.com. We hope to see you at LoanMart Field very soon! Go Quakes!