Quakes Rip Rawhide on Wednesday

Rancho Cucamonga, CA – The Quakes ended their three-game skid on Wednesday night in a big way, dropping 18 runs on the Visalia Rawhide in a lop-sided 18-1 win at LoanMart Field.

Austin Gauthier went deep (4) and drove in four, while Damon Keith slugged his team-leading tenth home run and finished with two RBIs, giving Rancho their largest margin of victory (17) this year.

Rancho starter Ronan Kopp pitched a career-high four scoreless innings to get the Quakes’ going on that end of the ball, stopping a streak of seven consecutive games of giving up at least seven runs or more.

Kopp didn’t get the win, but instead turned a 16-0 lead over to Adolfo Ramirez (4-0), who was solid, allowing just one run on two hits over 3.2 innings.

Visalia starter Josh Swales (1-4) had a tough go of it, as he allowed two in the first and four more in the second in the loss.

Yeiner Fernandez was instrumental in getting the Quakes going, as he reached base four times and scored four runs over the first four innings, as Rancho scored 16 in their first four frames.

Kenneth Betancourt had three hits, while Luis Diaz had three runs knocked in for Rancho.

The Quakes (2-3, 38-33) will send Maddux Bruns (0-1) to the mound against Peniel Otano (1-4) of Visalia on Thursday at 6:30pm.

Thursday is another Thirsty Thursday, as fans will enjoy drink specials throughout the night. Tickets are available at rcquakes.com. We hope to see you at LoanMart Field...Go Quakes!