San Bernardino, CA- The Inland Empire 66ers of San Bernardino got a game-winning RBI single with two outs in the bottom of the ninth from Designated Hitter Michael Barash and downed the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes 3-2 at San Manuel Stadium on Saturday. The win was Inland Empire's third straight victory
San Bernardino, CA- The Inland Empire 66ers of San Bernardino got a game-winning RBI single with two outs in the bottom of the ninth from Designated Hitter Michael Barash and downed the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes 3-2 at San Manuel Stadium on Saturday. The win was Inland Empire's third straight victory and sent the Quakes to their fourth consecutive defeat.
The 66ers took a lead in the bottom of the first when Jahmai Jones singled against Quakes (65-54, 29-20) to open the frame. The base-hit extended his hitting streak to 15 games. He moved to second on a passed ball and came home Jordan Zimmerman's RBI single for a 1-0 lead. The Quakes answered in the second versus Sixers starter Nate Bertness as Omar Estevez tallied an RBI double (the only extra-base hit for either side) and Zach McKinstry's RBI ground out gave Rancho a 2-1 lead. The runs were unearned due to a Sixers error. Bertness tossed six innings allowing six-hit and no walks in a no-decision. In the fifth the Sixers got a leadoff single from Jack Kruger against Ferguson who then loaded the bags with two more walks. The southpaw then walked Keith Grieshaber to bring in the tying run. Austin Robichaux (5-8) gave the 66ers (56-63, 26-23) three no-hit shutout innings from the pen to set up the ninth inning heroics. With one out Jack Kruger singled against righty Andrew Istler (4-4). It was Kruger's third hit of the night and fourth time on base. Jared Walsh's two-out single pushed Kruger to third setting up Barash's game-winning line drive single to left. Major Leaguers Adrián González and Andre Ethier went 0-for-4 and 0-3 respecively on injury rehabs for the Dodgers with the Quakes. Inland Empire pitching has struck out 22 batters with no walks in the first two games of the set.
The series concludes at 2:05 pm on Sunday. The contest can be seen and heard live at 66ers.com.
