Clutch Hitting Powers Third Nuts’ Win Over 66ers

San Bernardino, CA- The Inland Empire 66ers of San Bernardino fell to the Modesto Nuts 10-7 on Thursday at San Manuel Stadium. The win was Modesto’s season-best eighth consecutive victory and sent Inland Empire to its season-worst fourth straight defeat. The Nuts have taken the first three games of the six-game set.

Modesto (12-3) jumped ahead 1-0 on Noelvi Marte’s solo homer, in the first against Sixers’ starter Jack Dashwood (0-1). It was Marte’s second homer of the series and fourth of the year. The Sixers answered back in the bottom of the first when Elijah Greene walked to open the frame and then scored on Kyren Paris’ RBI triple. Paris then made it 2-1 Inland Empire when he came home on Jeremiah Jackson’s sac-fly. Inland Empire trailed 3-2 but scored twice in the home half highlighted by Paris’ RBI double. The Nuts responded with two more runs in the fourth however, to take a 4-3 advantage as IE starter Jack Dashwood (0-1) left the game in the frame with and apparent injury. The Nuts added two more in the fifth and three more in the top of the seventh to make it a 10-4 cushion. Inland Empire (6-8) got the three runs back in the bottom of the seventh with some help. Green singled with one out, his third hit of the game. A walk, two-base throwing error and wild pitch later the 66ers trimmed the deficit to 10-7; it would get no closer as righty Luis Curvelo tallied his third save of the year with a pair of scoreless innings. Adam Macko (1-0) earned the win going five innings surrendering four runs on five hits with three walks and ten K’s; the southpaw moved into a tie with 66ers’ lefty Brent Killam for the league-lead in strikeouts with 27. Marte, Victor Labrada , Brett Rodriguez and Juan Querecuto Jr. each had a pair of hits in the win for the Nuts. Modesto was 6-for-18 with runners in scoring position while Inland Empire was 0-for-11. The 66ers are 1-for-21 with runners in scoring position over their last two games.

The 66ers host the Modesto Nuts on Friday at 7:05 pm. The contest can be seen and heard live on 66ers.com.