Rancho Cucamonga, Calif. – The Rancho Cucamonga Quakes (25-19) came up clutch time and time again in the game’s biggest moments on Saturday night at Morongo Field, leading to a 4-3 walk-off victory over the Fresno Grizzlies (24-20).
The Grizzlies put the first run on the board in the early goings by turning to the home run ball. Tanner Thach launched a solo shot off the batter’s eye in center field in the top of the second, handing Fresno a 1-0 advantage.
One frame later, Hayden Alvarez responded with a big fly of his own. His two-run blast flipped the scoreline, turning a one-run deficit into a 2-1 Rancho Cucamonga lead in the bottom of the third.
In their next turn at bat, the Grizzlies returned the favor, this time keeping the ball in the field of play. Thach and Derek Bernard opened the inning by producing base hits, setting up Kyle Fossum to drive them both in. He ripped a double down the left field line, restoring Fresno’s one-run edge.
Lucas Ramirez wasted no time leveling the score in the bottom half of the inning, doing so on one swing. He promptly laced a solo home run over the right field fence to knot the Quakes and Grizzlies up at three.
At the contest’s midway point, both teams generated scoring threats, but both starting pitchers stepped up to keep the game tied. Trey Gregory-Alford induced a double play to work around runners on the corners in the top of the fifth, but Austin Newton one-upped him in the bottom half. The Fresno right-hander stranded two Quakes in scoring position to cancel out the Rancho Cucamonga rebuttal.
From the sixth inning on, both teams turned things over to their bullpens to silence the opposing lineups. Nicolò Pinazzi and Fulton Lockhart combined to strand seven Grizzlies on the base paths over the next four frames, the latter escaping a bases-loaded jam in the top of the ninth, while Seth Clausen and Yanzel Correa had similar success over that same span for the Grizzlies to force extra innings.
Jakob Guardado entered in the top of the tenth and left Grizzlies on the corners, providing the Quakes with a walk-off opportunity. A wild pitch opened the home half of the inning, moving pinch runner Felix Morrobel to third base, and Marlon Quintero lifted a sacrifice fly to center field, sending Rancho Cucamonga home as walk-off winners.
The Quakes finish off their series against the Grizzlies on Sunday at 2:00 PM. LHP Derek Clark heads to the hill for Rancho Cucamonga opposite RHP Marcos Herrera for Fresno. Upon the conclusion of the ballgame, kids can run the bases at Morongo Field.