Visalia, Calif. – The Rancho Cucamonga Quakes (21-31, 57-61) broke out their best swings in their final turn at bat to back up their pitching staff on Friday night at Valley Strong Ballpark as they raced past the Visalia Rawhide (21-31, 49-69) 9-2.
The lineup got right to work establishing a lead and plated the game’s first run in the first inning. Gavin Grahovac walked and stole second base before advancing to third on a Jeffery Heard infield single, placing runners on the corners for Marlon Quintero. He promptly shortened up and brought Grahovac home, grounding out to put the Quakes up 1-0.
Three innings later, Anyelo Marquez doubled their advantage. Following a Heard walk and stolen base, the center fielder laced a single up the middle, plating Heard to move Rancho Cucamonga ahead 2-0.
All the while, starting pitcher Ubaldo Soto worked around constant traffic on the base paths to maintain Rancho Cucamonga’s cushion. Through his first five innings, despite allowing six hits, the right-hander stranded four Rawhide base runners, holding them off the scoreboard to preserve the two-run edge.
Visalia opened the bottom of the sixth by stringing together two singles, ultimately forcing Soto’s removal, but Victor Garcia came out of the bullpen to keep the Quakes on top. Despite permitting a Jake Duer RBI base hit, he struck out three batters in the frame, keeping them on top heading into the late stages.
Joswa Lugo built on Garcia’s tightrope act in the top of the eighth, belting a solo home run to restore Rancho Cucamonga's edge to two. However, the Rawhide were quick to cancel it out. Nathan Hall clubbed a solo shot of his own, reducing their deficit to one heading into the final inning.
At that point, the Quakes came to life at the dish. Marquez led off the ninth by belting a solo home run, Grahovac tacked on a two-run single, and Heard chipped in a three-run blast, capping off a six-run rally that put the game out of reach with three outs left to collect.
Working behind a seven-run buffer, Angelo Smith calmly retired the side in order in the bottom of the frame, locking down the hard-earned win.
The Quakes head back to Valley Strong Ballpark on Saturday at 6:35 PM for the penultimate game of their six-game set against the Rawhide. RHP Mikey Cascino draws the starting assignment for Rancho Cucamonga opposite RHP Mervin Fell for Visalia. Baseball returns to Morongo Field on August 25th at 6:30 PM as the final home series begins with Healthy RC Recycle Tuesday and Two Dollar Tuesday versus the Lake Elsinore Storm.