Tower Buzzers Rally in 10th Behind Martinus, Smith to Take Series Lead

VISALIA, Calif. — The Ontario Tower Buzzers rode dominant pitching and a late surge at the plate Thursday night, exploding for five runs in the 10th inning to beat the Visalia Rawhide 6-2 at Valley Strong Ballpark.

This win bumps Ontario’s record up to 37-35 and gives them a 2-1 edge in the six-game series.

For a long stretch, this was all about the arms. Ontario’s Brady Smith turned in his sharpest outing of the year, six shutout innings, just one hit, 11 strikeouts, no walks. He had Visalia guessing all night, mixing in all pitches and just pounding the zone. Smith only threw 66 pitches to get through six and dropped his ERA to 3.75.

Smith mowed down 18 of the 19 hitters he faced. The Rawhide couldn’t get comfortable, swinging through curves or staring at strikes all night.

On the other side, Connor Foley gave Visalia a shot, striking out eight Tower Buzzers in his three innings. Eventually, he handed it off to the bullpen, and the bats stayed mostly quiet.

Ontario got on the board quick — Joendry Vargas led off the game with a double, then later stole home in a sequence after Mairo Martinus swiped second. Just like that, it was 1-0 for the visitors.

Both teams settled in, though, and the score stayed there almost the entire way.

Visalia finally broke through in the eighth thanks to an RBI single from Eliesbert Alejos, but Ontario’s defense snuffed out any real threat with a clutch double play that ended the inning and kept things even.

That set the stage for extra innings, and that’s when Ontario broke it open.

Javier Herrera reached on an error to start the 10th, allowing the automatic runner to score and put Ontario back ahead. Then Vargas singled, setting up Martinus, and the shortstop made it count, belting a three-run 467ft homer to left-center. Suddenly it was a four-run game, and Ontario could finally breathe. Ching-Hsien Ko didn’t let up, launching a solo shot right after for back to back shots. The Tower Buzzers put up a five-spot and iced it.

Martinus finished the night 4-for-5 with three RBIs, bumping his average up to .299. Ko knocked his 12th homer of the year and drove in his 48th. Vargas was a table setter at the top of the order, racking up three hits and scoring twice. Easton Shelton chipped in with a pair of hits. The Buzzers had 10 on the night, even while striking out 12 times.

Luis Carias picked up the win with four strong innings of relief. He gave up two runs (only one earned) and struck out five. Visalia managed to get one back in the bottom of the 10th, but Carias slammed the door, striking out Yerald Nin to end the game and pick up his sixth win.

That’s two wins in a row for Ontario, showing off the balanced game that’s carried them lately. O ffense one night, lights-out pitching the next, then timely hitting when it mattered most.

Game four rolls around Friday night, with Ontario looking to stretch its series lead in Visalia.