Visalia, Calif. – The Rancho Cucamonga Quakes (20-30, 56-60) could not slow the Visalia Rawhide (20-30, 48-68) offense down in the final frames, falling to a 4-2 defeat on Wednesday night at Valley Strong Ballpark.
While the Quakes could not crack the run column in the early innings, starting pitcher Trey Gregory-Alford stepped up to keep the Rawhide off the board. He did not allow a hit through his first three innings, striking out a pair of hitters as well to maintain a scoreless tie.
Rancho Cucamonga finally found their breakthrough in the middle frames, building up a two-run lead. Gavin Grahovac launched a solo home run to hand them the lead in the top of the fourth, and following a pair of singles that placed runners on the corners in the fifth, an errant Wilkin Paredes pickoff throw allowed Samil Dishmey to cross home plate, giving the Quakes breathing room halfway through the contest.
However, Visalia did not take long to respond. A Brayden Dowd RBI base hit cut their deficit in half in their half of the fifth, and Nathan Hall’s solo home run pulled them level one inning later, resulting in a 2-2 deadlock heading into the late stages.
After both teams failed to score in the seventh, the Rawhide capped off their comeback in the eighth. Pedro Blanco belted a two-run home run, handing the hosts a late lead they would not relinquish on the way to a close victory.
The Quakes return to Valley Strong Ballpark on Thursday at 6:35 PM to continue their six-game series against the Rawhide. LHP Derek Clark heads to the hill for Rancho Cucamonga opposite RHP Dean Livingston for Visalia. Action picks back up at Morongo Field on August 25th at 6:30 PM as the Lake Elsinore Storm make the short trip north on Healthy RC Recycle Tuesday and Two Dollar Tuesday.