Quakes Dip Below .500 with Loss to Sixers

Rancho Cucamonga, CA -The Rancho Cucamonga Quakes slipped below the .500 mark for the first time this year, dropping a 7-5 decision to the Inland Empire 66ers at San Manuel Stadium on Tuesday night.

The 66ers rallied from a 4-0 first-inning deficit, stealing the opening game of a three-game set.

Rancho streaked to the early advantage, chasing 66ers' starter Kramer Sneed before he finished the first inning.  O'Koyea Dickson's two-out RBI double brought home Darnell Sweeney, as the Quakes took a 1-0 lead.  Jonathan Garcia followed with an RBI single, plating Dickson to make it 2-0.  A misplayed pop-up and an RBI double by Elevys Gonzaelz made it 4-0, ending Sneed's night, eight batters in.

Quakes' starter Garrett Gould had trouble holding the lead though, as Inland Empire picked up two in the first, cutting Rancho's lead to 4-2.

The Quakes got a run back in the third, as Garcia doubled and scored on a Scott Schebler RBI groundout, taking a 5-2 advantage. 

The 66ers got even in the fourth though, as Michael Snyder's two-run double capped a three-run inning and chased Gould from the game.

JonMichael Redding entered to get the final out of the fourth and gave the Quakes 3 1/3 innings of solid relief effort.  Redding (0-1) made but just one mistake, allowing a fatal homer with two outs in the last of the seventh to Zach Borenstein, as the 66ers took the lead for good at 6-5.

Reliever Juan Noriega allowed his first run since joining the Quakes, as Inland Empire added an insurance run in the eighth, taking a two-run lead at 7-5.

Offense was tough to come by over the final six frames for the Quakes, as they were held to just one hit and never mounted a serious rally.

Inland Empire's Eric Cendejas (3-0) picked up the win with two perfect frames of relief, while Michael Morin notched his first save, firing two scoreless frames as well.

Rancho (9-10) will look to bounce back on Wednesday, sending Ross Stripling (1-0) to the mound against Mark Sappington (3-0) of Inland Empire at 7:05pm.

The Quakes return to LoanMart Field on Friday, for another Family RV $1 Family Feast Night, with fans enjoying hot dogs, Pepsi products and ice cream sandwiches all for just $1 each.  Tickets are available at (909) 481-5000 or online at rcquakes.com.  We hope to see you very soon at LoanMart Field…Go Quakes!