Missed Opportunities Cost Tower Buzzers in 5-2 Loss to 66ers in Opener

ONTARIO, Calif. —The Ontario Tower Buzzers kept pace with the Inland Empire 66ers in the hit column Tuesday night, both teams racking up seven apiece, but missed opportunities and a couple of costly errors sank Ontario in a 5-2 loss to open their six-game series at ONT Field.

Ontario, now sitting at 42-40, just couldn’t find that clutch hitting, only 2-for-13 with runners in scoring position and leaving eight men stranded. Meanwhile, Inland Empire (37-45) made the most of their chances and put a stop to the Buzzers’ momentum.

The 66ers struck early. In the first inning, Aiden Taurek doubled with two outs, and things started to unravel when Cesar Quintas reached on a throwing error by shortstop Joendry Vargas. That single mistake put Inland Empire up 1-0, even though they’d managed only one hit that inning.

In the third, Dervy Ventura wasted no time and smacked a solo home run to right field on the first pitch, stretching their lead to 2-0.

Ontario tried to answer back in the fourth. Mairo Martinus singled, snagged second base, and Joendry Vargas drove him in with a double to the left-center gap. That made it a 2-1 game.

But that was all Inland Empire starter Connor Wilford would allow. Wilford was locked in, scattering five hits over six innings, fanning nine batters, and giving up just one earned run for his first Single-A win.

The Buzzers had their chances, but the big hit never came. Martinus hit a triple in the first but ended up stranded. In the sixth, Ching-Hsien Ko got thrown out at the plate trying to score on an Easton Shelton single. The seventh inning almost came alive, but Oswaldo Osorio hit into a double play to end the rally.

Inland Empire picked up some breathing room in the eighth, with Taurek blasting a solo shot to right to make it 3-1. The 66ers padded that lead in the ninth. Another Ontario throwing error, this time from reliever Luis Carias, kept the inning alive, and Ricardo Cova’s RBI single pushed the score to 5-1.

Ontario gave it one last push in the ninth. Shelton walked, Vargas got plunked, and Conner O’Neal singled to load the bases with one out. Osorio knocked in a run on a fielder’s choice, but Inland Empire called in Reese Lumpkin, who got Kellon Lindsey to pop out and ended the game. That gave Lumpkin his fifth save.

Vargas stood out for Ontario, going a perfect 3-for-3 with two doubles, an RBI, and a stolen base. Martinus added two hits, including his league-best eighth triple. Brady Smith pitched 5.2 solid innings and struck out seven, but fell to 0-6 on the year, despite allowing only one earned run.

Ontario and Inland Empire are back at it Wednesday night, continuing the six-game set at ONT Field.