The first- and second-place teams in each division faced each other tonight and, believe it or not…….NO RAIN! With time running out on the first half, the Visalia Rawhide looked to strengthen its commanding lead over the surging San Jose Giants while the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes had the Lancaster Jethawks in their rear-view mirror with three-game sets on tap for the weekend.
The Rawhide won late with an 8th-inning run pushed across by an Anfernee Grier sac fly to break a 4-4 deadlock. Reliever West Tunnell came on to close it out in the top of the 9th and allowed the tying run to reach base when San Jose’s Randy Norris led off with a single. A passed ball put Norris at second with no outs but Tunnell struck out the next three batters to seal the 5-4 win.
RHP Kyler Stout (2-0) picked up the win with a scoreless inning in the 8th and Tunnell notched his sixth save while lowering his ERA to 1.69.
Grier homered earlier, his third, and knocked in three runs while 1B L.T. Tolbert had three hits for the Rawhide, who stretched their North division lead to 10 games.
In the South division Rancho Cucamonga traveled to Lancaster to try to protect a three-game lead over the Jethawks. The back-and-forth contest arrived in the bottom of the eighth with the Quakes holding a 6-4 lead, but Lancaster put four runs on the board to take an 8-4 lead to the top of the ninth. Salvador Justo closed it out with a 1-2-3 inning, including two strikeouts, for his sixth save. RHP Austin Moore (3-0) pitched a scoreless eighth inning to pick up the win.
Three different Jethawks had three hits apiece as the home team belted out 14 hits including 2B Taylor Snyder’s third homer of the season.
They’ll square off again Saturday and Sunday.
OTHER SCORES
STOCKTON – 4
INLAND EMPIRE – 1
INLAND EMPIRE – 2
STOCKTON – 3
(Both games seven innings)
LAKE ELSINORE – 8
MODESTO – 2
MacKenzie Gore improves to 4-1, 1.15 ERA with 5IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 6 K
