Rancho Cucamonga, Calif. – Down to their final two outs, the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes (16-11) refused to go down without a fight. A pair of late rallies propelled the Quakes to another walk-off win, taking down the Inland Empire 66ers (10-16) 3-2 in 10 innings on Sunday at Morongo Field.
The Quakes turned to Major League rehabber Ryan Johnson on the hill, and the starter dazzled in his 60-pitch outing. Across 3.1 scoreless innings, he scattered two hits and one walk, striking out seven Inland Empire batters along the way.
In the bottom of the fourth, Hayden Alvarez provided the spark that opened the scoring. He ripped a leadoff double and immediately advanced to third base on a balk. The next batter, Anyelo Marquez, brought him home on a run-scoring groundout, placing the Quakes in front 1-0.
However, their lead was short-lived. Grant Jay delivered a two-run double with two outs in Inland Empire’s next turn at bat, turning a one-run deficit into a one-run edge.
With a lead to protect, Jack Bowery emerged from the Inland Empire bullpen to hold the Quakes in check. He permitted just two hits in his first three relief innings, fanning eight batters to carry the 66ers’ 2-1 advantage into the bottom of the ninth.
In need of a late comeback, the top of the Rancho Cucamonga order sprang to life against Bowery in the bottom of the ninth. Alvarez lined an opposite-field leadoff single, advancing to second base two batters later on a Jonny McGill walk. Kendry Maduro then snuck a single through the left side of the Inland Empire infield, plating Alvarez to tie the game at two apiece and force extra innings.
Fulton Lockhart promptly carved up the heart of the 66ers lineup in the top of the 10th, stranding the extra-inning baserunner at second to set up a walk-off opportunity. Following an intentional walk to Kevyn Castillo to begin the bottom of the 10th, Slate Alford stepped up and laid down a bunt, leading to a throwing error which allowed Athanael Duarte to score the winning run and cap off the dramatic late victory.
The walk-off is Rancho Cucamonga’s third of the series and their second in as many contests, securing a series win over the 66ers.
After a day off, the Quakes head back to Morongo Field on Tuesday, May 5th, to kick off their first-ever six-game series versus the Ontario Tower Buzzers. It is also the second Education Day game of the season, starting at 11:00 AM.