Wild walk-off win for 'Hawks Sunday

LANCASTER, Calif. - After losing a three-run lead in the ninth inning, the Lancaster JetHawks came back from down three in the eleventh and beat Rancho Cucamonga, 13-12, on Todd Czinege's walk-off home run. Luis Castro hit three home runs, including the game-tying blast in the final inning.

Rancho Cucamonga (28-20) tied the game, 9-9, with three runs in the ninth inning. In the top of the 11th inning, the Quakes scored three times and it looked like the JetHawks were headed towards a crushing defeat.
The JetHawks (26-22) had other ideas. With two on and nobody out in the bottom of the 11th inning, Luis Castro hit his third home run of the game to tie Rancho. Castro went 4-for-4 with three home runs, six RBIs, four runs scored and three walks in the win. He is the first JetHawk to homer thiree times in a game since Roberto Ramos in April of 2018.
Two batters later, Todd Czinege crushed a walk-off home run off of Rancho's Connor Mitchell (1-1). The win was the third in walk-off fashion for the JetHawks in 2019. Czinege's home run was the sixth of the game for Lancaster, a season-high.
Kenny Koplove (2-1) pitched the final two innings to pick up the win. He worked a scoreless 10th inning before allowing three runs with two outs in the 11th.
Both teams blew multiple three-run leads Sunday. Rancho scored first and led, 3-0. The JetHawks lost two three-run leads. Lancaster led, 6-3, through four innings but Rancho tied the game in the fifth.
In the sixth, Castro and Casey Golden hit back-to-back home runs to put the JetHawks back in front. Carlos Herrera added a solo shot in the seventh inning to put Lancaster up, 9-6.
Rancho rallied in the ninth, scoring three unearned runs on three hits to tie the game. Lancaster led by two with two outs, but consecutive run-scoring hits sent us to extra innings.
The JetHawks had the last laugh, coming back from a three-run deficit, 12-9, in the 11th inning. Instead of trailing by four games in the standings, Lancaster is within two games of the Quakes heading into Memorial Day.
Lancaster is 3-5 in extra-inning games this season. Sunday's contest took 4:47, making it the longest of the season for the JetHawks.
Lancaster travels to San Jose Monday to open up their first series of the season against the Giants. Lefty Lucas Gilbreath (2-1) is slated to start the opener against San Jose's Jake Wong (0-1). First pitch is set for 5:00 pm. 
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