Rancho Cucamonga, CA - Using momentum from an extra-inning victory the night prior, the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes defeated the Lake Elsinore Storm for the second consecutive time, winning by the final score of 8-3 on Saturday night.A combination of early-and-often offense, including three home runs, and solid pitching across the
Rancho Cucamonga, CA - Using momentum from an extra-inning victory the night prior, the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes defeated the Lake Elsinore Storm for the second consecutive time, winning by the final score of 8-3 on Saturday night.
A combination of early-and-often offense, including three home runs, and solid pitching across the board propelled the Quakes (41-26) over the Storm (34-33) for the 10th time in 14 tries in the 2019 campaign.
Out of the leadoff spot, Jeren Kendall smacked a solo home run in the bottom of the first for his fifth home run of the year, making it an early 1-0 lead for Rancho.
After the Quakes tacked on a couple more tallies to extend their lead to 3-0, Lake Elsinore got a pair of RBI doubles from Esteury Ruiz and Gabriel Arias to make it a one-run contest.
Rancho would respond with a 5-1 run the rest of the way, highlighted by a couple of solo home runs from Jeter Downs and Nick Yarnall in the fourth inning. Downs crushed a 1-0 pitch over the left-field wall for his 12th jack of the season, while Yarnall laced the first pitch he saw over the right-field wall for his seventh homer of the year.
Andre Jackson, making his third start as a Quake, battled through 4.1 innings, allowing two earned runs with six strikeouts and three walks.
The win went to Rancho reliever Connor Mitchell (2-1) on official scorer's discretion, as he worked through two scoreless innings, surrendering just one hit. Mitchell was one of three arms, along with Max Gamboa and Connor Strain, that pieced together 4.2 innings of one-run baseball out of the Quakes' bullpen on Saturday night.
Storm starter, Reiss Knehr (0-1), shouldered the loss, lasting just one inning that featured four walks.
On Sunday, for Father's Day, Rancho will send RHP Gerardo Carrillo (2-4) to the bump, as Lake Elsinore will counter with RHP Elliot Ashbeck (2-0). Purchase tickets online at rcquakes.com or by calling (909) 481-5000, as it is a Quakes Team Card Set Giveaway, along with a Postgame Kids Run the Bases via The Smile Generation. Go Quakes!
