Quakes Drop One-Run Heartbreaker to 66ers
San Bernardino, Calif. – The Rancho Cucamonga Quakes (33-28) nearly capped off a thrilling late comeback against the Inland Empire 66ers (27-34), but a walk-off single in the bottom of the ninth condemned them to a 4-3 defeat on Friday night at San Manuel Stadium. Right away, Inland Empire broke
San Bernardino, Calif. – The Rancho Cucamonga Quakes (33-28) nearly capped off a thrilling late comeback against the Inland Empire 66ers (27-34), but a walk-off single in the bottom of the ninth condemned them to a 4-3 defeat on Friday night at San Manuel Stadium.
Right away, Inland Empire broke out their power bats to take an early lead. A Ricardo Cova solo home run got the scoring started in the bottom of the first, and following an Aiden Taurek triple, Korbyn Dickerson’s sacrifice fly pushed them in front 2-0.
From that point forward, Quakes starter Alton Davis shook off a rough first inning and held the 66ers in check. He allowed just one unearned run throughout his final four innings, keeping Rancho Cucamonga in the game.
Upon his departure, Jose Atencio kept up the momentum out of the bullpen. The right-hander posted two scoreless innings himself to begin his outing, holding their deficit at three heading into the game’s final two frames.
At that point, the Quakes woke up at the plate and kick-started their comeback. Anyelo Marquez produced a one-out single, and Hayden Alvarez promptly tripled him in. Jonny McGill then drew a walk, and on a hard-hit Ryland Zaborowski ground ball, 66ers third baseman Estevan Moreno committed an error, permitting Alvarez to trot home and pull within one at 3-2.
Down to their final three outs, Rancho Cucamonga leveled the contest at three in dramatic fashion. Marlon Quintero ripped a leadoff triple. Two consecutive strikeouts nearly curtailed their momentum, but John Wimmer came to the rescue. He cracked a two-out two-bagger of his own, plating the tying run.
However, the Quakes did not have any more magic at their disposal. A Dickerson two-out RBI single brought home the winning run in the bottom of the ninth, handing Inland Empire the walk-off win.
The Quakes head back to San Manuel Stadium on Saturday at 6:35 PM for game five of their six-game series versus the 66ers. RHP Trey Gregory-Alford gets the nod for Rancho Cucamonga opposite RHP Scott Rouse for Inland Empire. Play picks back up at Morongo Field on June 22nd as the Quakes host the Stockton Ports on Healthy RC Recycle Tuesday and Two Dollar Tuesday.