Rawhide Walk Off Tower Buzzers in Series Finale

VISALIA, Calif. – The Ontario Tower Buzzers were just one out away from wrapping up a five-win week in Visalia, but the Rawhide had other plans. They walked it off in the bottom of the ninth, grabbing a 5-4 win Sunday at Valley Strong Ballpark.

Even with that tough loss, Ontario still heads to Fresno feeling good. They took four out of the six games in the series and now sit at 39-36 after one of their best road trips all year.

Visalia didn’t waste time. In the first inning, Pedro Blanco smacked a two-run homer and just like that, the Rawhide were up 2-0.

Mason Estrada, Ontario’s starter, shook it off and settled right in. After those early runs, he got down to business, retiring 14 of the last 17 hitters he faced. Estrada finished five innings and only gave up two runs on two hits. He reached a new career high with 10 strikeouts, walked two, and kept the Tower Buzzers right in it.

Ontario’s lineup finally woke up in the sixth against the Rawhide bullpen. Ching-Hsien Ko started things off with a double, and then Landyn Vidourek punched an RBI single into left to cut the lead to 2-1.

The next inning, Ontario kept piling on. Javier Herrera and Kendall George got on base, then Jaron Elkins knocked Herrera in with a single. Ko followed up with another RBI single, and suddenly Ontario led 3-2.

Visalia didn’t let up. In the bottom of the seventh, Yerald Nin doubled and Abdias De La Cruz sent one over the fence for a two-run homer. The Rawhide jumped back ahead, 4-3.

But Ontario answered right away. In the eighth, Mairo Martinus singled, and Conner O’Neal brought him home with another single which tied the game, 4-4. That made it four games in a row where the Tower Buzzers either came back or answered right after the other team scored.

Things got tense in the ninth. Joendry Vargas doubled with two outs, Elkins collected his third hit to put runners on the corners, but Visalia’s Raul Garayzar got the last out and the game stayed tied.

In the bottom half, things unraveled. Nin walked, Adrian De Leon doubled, and after another walk, the bases were loaded. With two outs, a wild pitch let Nin race home for the win.

Elkins and Ko both finished with three hits for Ontario, leading a 12-hit effort. Vidourek and O’Neal each drove in a run. Herrera, George, Martinus, and Vargas all added hits, so every batter reached base at least once.

Even though that final out slipped away, Ontario still dominated most of the series, winning four out of six and outscoring Visalia 32-21 over the last five games. They got big performances from their starting pitchers, too, something they’ll want to keep going when they head to Fresno to finish the back half of the road trip.