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CalL1 Inland Empire 66ers

66ers Find a Little Extra, Beat JetHawks 11-8

September 6, 2009 - California League (CalL1)
Inland Empire 66ers News Release


LANCASTER, Calif. - The 66ers raked 12 extra-base hits among their 18 and turned two late-inning rallies into an 11-8 win over the JetHawks Saturday night.

The 66ers (59-79) pushed Thursday's hitless effort further into the rearview mirror with a clutch night at the plate, scoring ten of 11 runs with two outs.

Jaime Ortiz slugged a pair of home runs for the first time in his career and had 5 RBIs. Preston Mattingly broke an 0-for-23 slump with three doubles and a 5-for-5 night, the first 5-hit game of his career.

Trailing 8-5 after the JetHawks sent ten batters to the plate in a four-run fifth inning, the 66ers rallied in the seventh. Andres Perez smacked an opposite-field triple to score Jovanny Rosario before Ortiz tied the game with a two-run shot to right. Ortiz had given the Sixers a 3-0 lead in the first with a 3-run shot off Lancaster starter Chris Hicks.

Tied at eight in the eighth inning, Rosario tripled to right off Patrick Urckfitz, scoring Alex Garabedian from second with the go-ahead run. After Elian Herrera walked, Steve Caseres slugged his third double of the night for an 11-8 lead.

With Jake McCarter on the mound to close out the win, Steve Brown doubled and Craig Corrado walked to bring the tying run to the plate with no outs. After a strikeout, McCarter closed the game the same way Friday's ended, with Lancaster hitting into a double play. Herrera made this one highlight-worthy with a brilliant glove-only flip to Christian Lara, who threw to first ahead of J.B. Shuck for the 4-6-3 double play.

Matt Smith made his first start for the 66ers and yielded a run on 4 hits in 1 2/3 innings. The run came on a mammoth home run by Jon Gaston in the first, his league-leading 34th of the year.

The first six batters (seven total) in Inland Empire's lineup had more than one hit. Following Mattingly's five hits were Caseres (3-for-5), Rosario (2-for-5), Herrera (2-for-4), Perez (2-for-5), Garabedian (2-for-5) and Ortiz (2-for-5).

The 12 extra-base hits were the most in a game for the 66ers since August 3, 2005 (12, and also at Lancaster). The eight doubles were the most since they had 11 doubles at Lake Elsinore May 3, 2006.

The Quakes (61-77) lost 8-4 in Bakersfield, keeping the 66ers playoff hopes alive. Two games back with two to play, the 66ers need two wins and a pair of Quakes losses to force a one-game playoff Tuesday at Rancho Cucamonga.

The 66ers and JetHawks reconvene Sunday at 6 p.m. RHP Tim Sexton (8-14, 3.76) makes the start for the 66ers while the JetHawks will start LHP Shane Wolf (5-7, 5.34). Radio coverage on KCAA 1050AM begins at 5:55 p.m.

Check out the Inland Empire 66ers Statistics



California League Stories from September 6, 2009


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