Tower Buzzers Respond, Defeat Quakes 8-5 to Even Series

ONTARIO, Calif. – The Ontario Tower Buzzers bounced right back on Wednesday night, shaking off a tough opening loss in the series and knocking off the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes, 8-5. This evened things up, one win apiece, in the six-game set.

Ontario didn’t waste any time shifting the mood. Chase Harlan set the tone early; two outs in, he blasted a solo shot to left-center for his tenth home run of the year. The Buzzers were up, 1-0, after just one inning.

They added some cushion in the fourth when Ching-Hsien Ko hammered a solo homer to right, his ninth of the season, and his hot streak didn’t freeze up after his two-hit night on Tuesday. By this point, Ontario had a 2-0 lead.

On the mound, Cam Leiter looked locked in. He worked quickly and confidently, holding Rancho to just two hits and punching out seven over three innings. The Quakes just couldn't catch up to his pitches, and Leiter saw his ERA dip to 2.60.

The Buzzers kept things rolling in the fifth. Oswaldo Osorio roped a double to the gap in right-center, and Mairo Martinus drew a walk. A couple of productive outs moved both runners over, and with two outs, Easton Shelton came through, singling to left to score both Osorio and Martinus. Ontario was up, 4-0, and for most of the night, the game seemed all but over.

But Rancho woke up in the sixth, catching some life against Ontario’s bullpen. Hayden Alvarez doubled, and the Quakes started putting together tough at-bats. RBI hits from Kendrey Maduro, Ryland Zaborowski, and Marlon Quintero trimmed the lead, and then a throwing error let them tie things up at 4-4.

Ontario didn’t let the momentum slip. In the bottom of the seventh, Brendan Tunink got hit by a pitch, and Harlan singled. A few batters later, Joendry Vargas ripped a triple down the right field line, bringing in both runners. The Buzzers snatched the lead right back.

They kept pushing. Landyn Vidourek walked and swiped second, then Bryan Gonzalez Garcia drew a walk too. Osorio stepped up again, delivering a two-run single to right and blowing the game back open, 8-4.

The bullpen handled it from there. Accimias Morales settled things down, tossing 2.1 scoreless innings and picking up the win. Angel Cruz took care of the ninth, giving up a run, but nothing more.

Harlan finished his night 2-for-5 with a home run and scored twice. Ko reached base four times, including a homer, two runs, and three walks. Shelton and Osorio each drove in two, Vargas came through with a clutch two-run triple, and overall, the Buzzers pounded out 10 hits.

The series rolls on Thursday night in Ontario, with one game left in the first half.