Tower Buzzers’ Ninth-Inning Rally Falls Short in 10-9 Playoff Loss
ONTARIO, Calif. — The Tower Buzzers almost pulled off a miracle Tuesday night. Down by seven runs in the ninth inning, they scored six times and nearly completed the wildest comeback of their season, but came up just short, falling 10-9 to the Lake Elsinore Storm in Game One of
ONTARIO, Calif. — The Tower Buzzers almost pulled off a miracle Tuesday night. Down by seven runs in the ninth inning, they scored six times and nearly completed the wildest comeback of their season, but came up just short, falling 10-9 to the Lake Elsinore Storm in Game One of the South Division Championship Series.
Lake Elsinore looked to have the game wrapped up after a big ninth inning, capped by Ty Harvey’s three-run homer that put Ontario in a 10-3 hole. But the Buzzers didn’t back down.
Caleb Johnson got things going with his second home run of the game, a solo shot that made it 10-4. Then Conner O’Neal walked, Kyeler Thompson drew another free pass, and Kellon Lindsey walked too, loading the bases.
Ching-Hsien Ko ripped a double into the gap in left-center, bringing home two runs and giving the crowd some hope. Seconds later, Joendry Vargas smashed a three-run homer to right, and just like that, Ontario was down by only a run.
Easton Shelton came up as the tying run, but Rob Evans managed to catch him looking at strike three to end the game.
Johnson finished the night 2-for-4 with two homers and three RBIs. Shelton went 3-for-5, adding a double and a solo home run. Ko chipped in two hits and two RBIs, and Vargas drove in three runs with his blast in the ninth.
For most of the night, Ontario’s bats were quiet. Lake Elsinore starter Jesus Castro held them to two hits in six innings, giving up only one run and striking out five to pick up the win.
Lake Elsinore took an early lead with an RBI single from Alex Conover in the first. They blew things open with four more runs in the fourth, helped along by an Ontario error. Joe Tiroly brought home two with a single, and then Conover doubled to make it 5-0.
Shelton got Ontario on the board with a solo homer in the fourth, and Johnson trimmed the deficit to 6-3 with a two-run homer in the seventh.
Marlon Nieves took the loss for Ontario, giving up five runs (just one earned) over 3 2/3 innings. Devin Bell was a bright spot out of the bullpen, retiring all seven hitters he faced and striking out three.
Lake Elsinore finished with 12 hits and did some damage with runners in scoring position. Ontario managed nine hits, went 3-for-8 with runners in scoring position, and left only four men on base.
Now, Ontario’s season is on the line. Lose Game Two, and their playoff run ends. Win, and they get another shot in a do-or-die Game Three.
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Media Contacts:
Adam Serrano
Regional Marketing Director
Diamond Baseball Holdings
Jeff Woolson
Play-by-Play Broadcaster