Rancho Cucamonga, Calif. – The Rancho Cucamonga Quakes (11-13, 47-43) left nothing to chance in their Sunday series finale at Morongo Field, pulling away in the middle innings of a high-scoring contest to take down the Inland Empire 66ers (11-13, 39-51) 12-5.
A Cesar Quintas sacrifice fly immediately placed the 66ers in front in the top of the first, but the Quakes wasted no time canceling it out. Hayden Alvarez opened the home half of the frame by legging out a triple and came home on a Kevyn Castillo infield single one batter later. A successful hit and run placed runners on the corners, setting up Anyelo Marquez to fire Rancho Cucamonga into the lead on a fielder’s choice. John Wimmer then launched a two-run home run, capping off a four-run tone-setting rally.
Inland Empire scratched two runs across in the top of the third, lowering their deficit to one, but Ryland Zaborowski promptly supplied the Quakes with some breathing room. He cranked a solo home run, upping their advantage to 5-3.
However, their momentum was short-lived. Korbyn Dickerson belted a two-run blast of his own in the top of the fourth, tying the score at five.
At that point, Rancho Cucamonga flipped a switch and took matters into their own hands. Castillo delivered an RBI base hit to restore their edge, and Zaborowski followed up by blasting a three-run home run, his second of the evening, propelling the Quakes ahead 9-5.
The Quakes continued to build upon their success at the dish and kept their foot on the gas over the next two frames. Doubles from Castillo and Kendrey Maduro led to another pair of tallies in the fifth while Marquez raced home on a wild pitch in the sixth, extending their cushion to seven.
Following their offensive outbursts, the Rancho Cucamonga bullpen kept the 66ers from answering back. Brayan Vergara supplied three scoreless innings, allowing just one baserunner on a hit batsman. Fulton Lockhart entered in the top of the ninth, recording all three of his outs via the strikeout, locking down the win alongside a series victory.
The Quakes head to Chukchansi Park on Tuesday at 6:50 PM to start a six-game series against the Fresno Grizzlies. Action resumes at Morongo Field on July 28th at 6:30 PM when Rancho Cucamonga welcomes the San Jose Giants to town on Healthy RC Recycle Tuesday and Two Dollar Tuesday.