Bemboom's Heroics Lead 66ers to Comeback Win

San Bernardino, CA- The Inland Empire 66ers got late inning heroics from pinch hitter Wade Hinkle and catcher Anthony Bemboom as the Sixers scored four runs in the bottom of the eighth inning to stun the Visalia Rawhide 6-5 at San Manuel Stadium on Saturday. The 66ers made it two straight wins against Visalia over the Independence Day holiday.

Inland Empire (28-58, 3-13) trailed 5-2 heading into the bottom of the eighth inning when the Rawhide (41-45, 5-11) brought in Kyle Schepel and his 1.08 ERA. The righty had allowed just five hits over 16.2 innings of work this season. After getting the first out in the frame, Schepel walked Jose Rondon. Mark Shannon then singled to right to bring the potential tying run to the plate. The base hit was Shannon's second of the night, he has three-consecutive multi-hit games.

66ers Manager Denny Hocking then played a hunch and pinch hit for his cleanup batter with left-handed batting Wade Hinkle. The move paid off as Hinkle drilled an RBI single to right to score Rondon and make it 5-3. Cal Towey then walked to load the bases. Schepel got Dennis Raben to strike out after a lengthy at-bat which set the stage for Anthony Bemboom. The Sauk Rapids, MN native smoked a line drive to the base of the wall in right field that scored all three runners; Bemboom's triple gave Inland Empire a 6-5 lead.

Bemboom's fellow Creighton Blue Jay Kurt Spomer came in to lock down his fourth save of the season capped by the a game-ending 6-4-3 double play that lowed his ERA with IE to 0.28 on the year.

Austin Adams was credited with the win for the 66ers, he improved to 2-2 on the year while Schepel fell to 2-2. Visalia starter Brandon Sinnery got a no decision but allowed just two unearned runs over six frames with six K's. Bemboom's triple was the only extra-base hit of the night for Inland Empire.

It was Inland Empire's third win of the season when trailing after seven innings. The 66ers are now 13-13 versus the California League's Northern Division but just 15-45 within their own Southern half. The loss was Visalia's eighth in a row.

Of Note: Joey Krehbiel threw a perfect inning of relief for the Rawhide versus his old club with one K. He was traded to the Diamondbacks organization by the Angels less than 24 hours prior and simply changed clubhouses at San Manuel Stadium. He and former Inland Empire and Cal League MVP Zach Borenstein were part of the trade in which the Angels acquired LHP Joe Thatcher for the big league bullpen.

The series continues on Sunday at 5:05 pm; it can be heard live at 66ers.com.