Buzzers Split Double Header

May 21, 2026

San Bernardino, Calif. – GAME ONE: The Tower Buzzers looked ready to make some noise on Wednesday, jumping out to a quick five-run inning to start the doubleheader. But things went sideways fast. Some rough pitching and shaky defense let the Inland Empire 66ers claw their way back and steal

Ontario came out swinging against Inland Empire starter Aiden Butler. They strung together key two-out hits, built up a six-run cushion by the fifth, and piled up nine hits and eight runs. Still, a few defensive errors and a fired-up Inland Empire offense flipped the script on them before they could settle in.

Ontario’s bats came to life in the next inning. Easton Shelton singled, Conner O’Neal drew a walk, and Javier Herrera walked too, loading the bases. Mairo Martinus took another bases-loaded walk, tying the score. Then Ching-Hsien Ko stepped in and smashed a 0-2 grand slam, giving Ontario a 5-1 lead.

Shelton doubled in the third, scoring on O’Neal’s RBI double, and extended Ontario’s lead to 6-2. But everything fell apart after that.

Ricardo Cova reached on a throwing error. Brady Smith got two quick outs, but Estevan Moreno walked, keeping things alive for Inland Empire. With two on, Dustin Crenshaw drilled a two-run triple to center, bringing the 66ers within one run. Ontario brought in Jholbran Herder to calm things down, but it didn’t work. Herder got rocked, giving up seven runs, including a Starlin Aguilar three-run homer. Suddenly, Inland Empire led 7-6 after a five-run blitz.

The 66ers didn’t let up. In the fourth, Cova walked, Dickerson singled, and then Crenshaw added a two-run single. Crenshaw stole second, Moreno scored on a balk, and Dykstra lifted a sacrifice fly, pushing the lead to 11-6.

Ontario tried to keep fighting. Easton Shelton stays hot, launching a two-run homer on the first pitch from Jose Zerpa in the fifth to cut the lead down to 11-8.

Shelton had himself a day: 3-for-4, three runs, a double, and his ninth homer. Ko also went 3-for-4, racking up four RBIs and that huge grand slam. Still, Ontario couldn’t get any closer.

Dustin Crenshaw was the big bat in game one. Finished 2-for-3, drove in four runs, stole two bases, and hit a triple. Aguilar drove in three on his homer, and Dickerson scored twice up top.

Ontario’s pitchers had a rough day. They handed out seven walks, threw wild pitches, and got burned by extra-base hits. The defense didn’t help; two costly errors by Vargas at shortstop gave Inland Empire extra chances.

Herder took the loss after he couldn’t stop the third-inning rally. Zerpa got the win for the 66ers, calming things down and allowing only two runs over 3.1 innings. The Buzzers drop to 19-21. The 66ers move up to 20-20.

GAME TWO: Game 1 of Thursday’s doubleheader was tough to swallow for the Ontario Tower Buzzers, but they didn’t dwell on it for long. In Game 2, they came alive late, erasing a 6-2 deficit with a four-run seventh and then sneaking across the winning run in extras.

They flipped the script, fighting back to edge out the Inland Empire 66ers 7-6 in eight innings and leave with a split.

For a good chunk of the game, though, it looked like Ontario was headed for another frustrating night. Luis Carias struggled early, giving up two runs in the first inning on RBI hits by Cesar Quintas and Estevan Moreno.

Defensive miscues have haunted Ontario plenty this year. Early on, it looked like more of the same. Two errors in the second from Mairo Martinus and Easton Shelton kept pressure on the pitching staff and let the 66ers stretch their lead to 4-1.

But Ontario’s pitchers settled down. Carias shook off the rocky first few innings and went on to strike out seven over five frames, keeping things within arm's reach. That gave the offense some time to finally get going.

And they did. Once again, Ontario found ways to produce one through nine. The Buzzers finished 5-for-14 with runners in scoring position and drew six walks in the process.

Javier Herrera stood out. He reached base four times, scored twice, and always seemed to come up big at the bottom of the order. His RBI single in the second put Ontario on the board, and his leadoff hit in the seventh kicked off the comeback, marking his first hit and RBI in a Tower Buzzer uniform.

Brendan Tunink tried to spark some life in the fifth with an RBI single that made it 5-2, but the 66ers answered right back with a solo homer from Ryan Picollo off Jose Cabrera, pushing the lead to 6-2.

At that point, Inland Empire looked set to cruise. Ontario had other ideas.

In the seventh, the whole lineup stepped up. AJ Soldra smoked a double to start, Martinus followed with a clutch RBI single, then Joendry Vargas and Shelton chipped in back-to-back run-scoring hits. Just like that, the game was tied.

Ontario never hit a home run, but they pounded out 10 hits and found ways to get the next guy to the plate. That’s the kind of offense they’ve been searching for. Not just hoping for a long ball, but patient, tough at-bats all the way through.

Shelton’s hot day continued with two hits and another RBI. Martinus matched him with a pair of hits.

Then, in the eighth, Ontario took the lead in a strange way. Herrera and Kellon Lindsey both walked, the 66ers’ reliever balked, and Anson Aroz trotted home to break the tie.

Reliever Angel Cruz made sure it stuck, leaving the tying run stranded at third by fanning Ricardo Cova for the final out and collecting his first save of the year.

Ontario could’ve left the field with nothing but frustration after blowing Game 1. Instead, they walked away with a win that showed poise.

The Buzzers continue the series against the 66ers on May 21st at 6:35.

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Media Contacts:

Adam Serrano

Regional Marketing Director

Diamond Baseball Holdings

[email protected]

Jeff Woolson

Play-by-Play Broadcaster

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