Quakes Get Bats Going in Middle Innings to Defeat Ontario

Ontario, Calif. – The Rancho Cucamonga Quakes (28-34, 64-64) kicked their offense into gear in the middle innings on Wednesday night at ONT Field as they broke through to beat the Ontario Tower Buzzers (36-26, 69-59) 10-7.

Early on, though, the Tower Buzzers drew first blood. Ching-Hsien Ko delivered a solo home run to open the scoring in the bottom of the first inning, powering the hosts ahead 1-0.

However, the Quakes canceled out the blast, turning to small ball to quickly take their first lead. Lucas Ramirez supplied a sacrifice fly in the top of the second to tie the score, and Gabriel Davalillo followed up one frame later with one of his own, giving Rancho Cucamonga the upper hand at 2-1.

Ontario negated those swings immediately, rallying for a pair of runs in their half of the third. Joendry Vargas grounded a single into right field to knot the score at two, and Caleb Johnson added a sacrifice fly, boosting the Tower Buzzers on top 3-2.

Once again, the two teams traded runs in the fourth inning, maintaining Ontario’s one-run edge. Angel Arredondo supplied an RBI single for the Quakes. Still, triples from Jose Gonzalez and Kyeler Thompson nullified it right away, resulting in a 4-3 Tower Buzzers advantage at the contest’s midway point.

As the sixth inning rolled around, Rancho Cucamonga found their form at the plate and broke the game open. Shortly after Jaxon Willits’s single placed the Quakes on even footing, Gavin Grahovac blasted a three-run opposite-field home run that sent them back in front. Joswa Lugo then doubled, and Davalillo singled him in, establishing an 8-4 advantage heading into the final three frames.

Rancho Cucamonga kept rolling into the seventh, breaking into double digits in the run column. Jonathan Linares ripped a two-run single into center field, capping a stretch of seven tallies over two frames and improving their cushion to six.

The Tower Buzzers managed to pull a run back in the seventh on a wild pitch and error before Oswaldo Osorio’s ninth-inning two-run home run cut the Quakes’ deficit in half. Nevertheless, the visitors rode the late comeback bid and saw Ontario off, closing out the win.

The Quakes aim for their third straight win on Thursday at 6:35 PM when they return to ONT Field for game three of their six-game series against the Tower Buzzers. LHP Derek Clark handles the starting assignment for Rancho Cucamonga opposite RHP Adriano Marrero for Ontario.