Quakes Romp 66ers to End Skid

Rancho Cucamonga, CA – After three consecutive losses, the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes were hungry to get back in gear and regain a share of first place. Get in gear they did on Friday night in front of more than 2200 fans, as they piled on the runs in a 15-5 clobbering of the Inland Empire 66ers at LoanMart Field.

Jake Vogel and Jonny DeLuca homered, while Hyun-Il Choi picked up his league-leading seventh win of the year, helping the Quakes end their skid and move back into a first-place tie with Inland Empire in the South Division standings.

The 66ers grabbed an early 2-0 lead against starter Jimmy Lewis, but the Quakes wasted little time answering, as Jake Vogel homered with DeLuca aboard, tying the game two batters in.

The game remained tied until the fifth, as Rancho exploded for five runs to take the lead for good. DeLuca’s team-leading 13th blast of the year, highlighted the inning, snapping the tie to make it a 5-2 game against Inland Empire starter Adam Seminaris (2-4).

Inland Empire scored their lone run against Choi (7-3) in the sixth, as an RBI groundout by Braxton Martinez made it 7-3.

Rancho got two in the seventh, then put it away with six in the eighth, taking advantage of countless mistakes and defensive errors by Inland Empire, who finished with five total errors on the night.

Dodgers’ left-hander Victor Gonzalez worked a 1-2-3 fourth in relief of Lewis. Gonzalez, on rehab with plantar fasciitis, struck out two and was tested by covering first base on a 3-1 groundout.

The Quakes (33-30) and 66ers (33-30) will break the first-place tie on Saturday night, as Rancho sends Kendall Williams (1-1) to the mound on Saturday, opposite Julio Goff (4-3). Everyone will enjoy post-game Fireworks on Saturday, thanks to National CORE! Game time is 630pm and tickets are available at rcquakes.com.

All games can be heard live with Mike Lindskog, by visiting our website at rcquakes.com and click the Listen Live button. You can also download the iHeart Radio app and find the RC Quakes Radio channel or on the Tune-In Radio app, by searching keyword Quakes. Have Amazon Alexa or a Google Home? You can use voice command to get the Quakes too, by enabling the Alexa and Google Skills for both iHeart Radio and Tune-In Radio.

We hope to see you at LoanMart Field very soon!