Tag Archives: Visalia Rahwide

GRIZZLIES DROP RAWHIDE IN EXTRAS

SS Ezequiel Tovar homered and drove in three runs, including the game-winner in the bottom of the 1th inning as the Fresno Grizzlies won a see-saw battle with the Visalia Rawhide Friday night. The Rawhide scored single runs in the 10th and 11th innings but couldn’t put the game in the win column as Fresno tied it back up in the 11th and won on the strength of Tovar’s two-run double to end it.

Fresno starter RHP Will Ethridge went five innings allowing one run on three hits and striking out six with no walks as the Grizzlies held on to an early 2-1 lead. Tovar, the Colorado Rockies’ #20 prospect per MLB Pipeline, tacked on a run with a solo homer in the fifth.

Visalia rallied for two runs in the eighth to tie it at 3-3 on a Ronnie Simon single to RF where Zac Veen let the ball get past him and two runners  scored. Simon was thrown  out at the plate, which would prove crucial as the game ended up going to extra innings.

RHP Fineas Del Bonta-Smith went two innings in relief for the Grizzlies, striking out six. He allowed an unearned run to score by the installed runner in the 10th after pitching a scoreless ninth.

The Rawhide fell to 1-9 on the season. RHP Brandon Pfaadt went five innings, allowing three runs on five hits with one walk and three strikeouts.

The Grizzlies are 7-3 and tied with Modesto for first place in the North division.

SCOREBOARD

MODESTO – 8
RANCHO CUCAMONGA – 2
Box

Taylor Dollard (1-0) earned his first win with five dominant innings, allowing one run on five hits with eight Ks and no walks. LF Cade Marlowe (2) and 3B Brett Rodriguez (1) homered as the Nuts offense racked up 15 hits. #7 prospect SS Noelvi Marte went 3-for-5 with a double.

SAN JOSE – 14
STOCKTON – 3
Box

San Jose had 17 hits, including four-hit nights for SS Abdiel Layer and C Ricardo Genoves, as the Giants got back to .500 at 5-5. Layer (2) homered twice and LF Harrison Freed (1) and CF Luis Matos (2) also went deep. RHP Randy Rodriguez went the final three innings and gave up just one hit and no runs while walking one and striking out six to earn the save despite the blowout score.

INLAND EMPIRE – 7
LAKE ELSINORE – 2
Box 

LHP Ryan Smith (1-0) and LPH Jack Dashwood (S1) combined to cover all nine innings in a 7-2 win over Lake Elsinore. Smith gave up a 2nd-inning HR to Joshua Mears, his only hit allowed, and walked three while striking out eight. Dashwood went the last four innings allowing a run on four hits with no walks and five Ks. 2B Kyren Paris, the Angels’ #7 prospect, homered and LF William Rivera had three hits. The 66ers moved to within 1/2 game of the Storm in the South division standings.

STORM GO TO 4-0, QUAKES vs. 66ERS POSTPONED

The Lake Elsinore Storm stayed perfect in Low-A West play with a dramatic 9-8 win in extra innings in Visalia Friday night while the league also saw its first postponement for covid-related reasons.

The game between the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes and Inland Empire 66ers was postponed shortly before the scheduled first pitch with the 66ers ultimately posting this message on it’s official Twitter account:

Tonight’s scheduled game between the Inland Empire 66ers and the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes at San Manuel Stadium has been postponed to allow for continued testing and contract tracing involving members of the 66ers organization. MLB and the 66ers will provide further updates as they become available.

No info on tonight’s scheduled game is available at this time.

 

SCOREBOARD

 

LAKE ELSINORE – 9
VISALIA – 8

Box

The Lake Elsinore Storm became the league’s only 4-0 team by winning another back-and-forth battle with the Visalia Rawhide. Friday night’s win saw CF Robert Hassell III knock in the go-ahead run in the top of the 10th with a leadoff triple, driving in the installed runner from second base. Euribiel Angeles brought Hassell III home moments later with a sac fly to provide the winning margin as the Rawhide struck for one run in the bottom of the 10th, but no more.

RHP Jose Geraldo (1-0) went the final 2 2/3 innings for Lake Elsinore, giving up the lead in the bottom of the eighth, but pitching well to close it out and get his first win of the season.

The Rawhide got five strong innings from RHP Brandon Pfaadt who allowed just one hit, a Brandon Valenzuela homerun, while striking out seven with no walks. Pfaadt threw 66 pitches, 49 strikes. 3B A.J. Vukovich (2) and DH Ronny Simon (2) both homered for Visalia.

STOCKTON – 1
MODESTO – 2
Box

Four Modesto pitchers combined for 16 strikeouts and 1B Robert Perez drove home the eventual winning run with a two-out single in the eighth inning as Modesto won it’s third straight game, 2-1 over Stockton. RHP Taylor Dollard made his professional debut and went four shutout innings allowing  just two hits and no walks while striking out 10. Dollard struck out eight straight Ports batters in one stretch.

Leon Hunter (1-0) went an inning and a third for the win while Garret Acton (0-1) took the loss for Stockton. Nolan Hoffman pitched a scoreless ninth inning to pick up his second save.

Stockton’s Tyler Soderstrom went 2-for-3 with a double while walking twice. Soderstrom is the Oakland A’s top prospect per MLB Pipeline.

FRESNO – 4
SAN JOSE – 9
Box

The Giants got four first-inning runs and raced out to a 7-0 lead after four innings while LHP Nick Swiney dazzled in his pro debut as San Jose notched its first win of the season. Luis Matos and Harrison Freed had three hits apiece and Armani Smith had a triple and four RBI for the Giants.

Swiney threw four shutout innings, allowing a hit and two walks while striking out six. RHP Justin Crump (1-0)  went 1 1/3 scoreless in relief to earn his first win. Crump didn’t allow a hit and struck out four batters while issuing two walks.

The Grizzlies got a pair of singles from leadoff man Isaac Collins while Bladimir Restituyo drove in two runs.

 

 

 

STORM, QUAKES, GRIZZLIES MOVE TO 2-0

The Lake Elsinore Storm had another big offensive night in Visalia on Wednesday as they slugged their way to an 11-5 win over the Rawhide. The Rancho Cucamonga Quakes kept pace in the South division and the Rancho Fresno Grizzlies also moved to 2-0 to take over the top spot in the North.

SCOREBOARD:

LAKE ELSINORE – 11
VISALIA – 5
Box

FRESNO – 10
SAN JOSE – 4
Box

STOCKTON – 8
MODESTO – 3
Box

RANCHO  CUCAMONGA – 12
INLAND EMPIRE – 6
Box

GRIZZLIES OPEN LOW-A WEST PLAY WITH A WIN

The Fresno Grizzlies splashed down in the Low-A West with a 5-3 road win over the San Jose Giants as minor league baseball returned for the first time since 2019. Lefty Breiling Eusebio went five innings for the win while Ezequiel Tovar rapped three hits including two doubles.

SCOREBOARD

FRESNO – 5
SAN JOSE – 3
Box

LAKE ELSINORE – 8
VISALIA  – 7
Box
Storm go ahead to stay in the top of the 8th on a two-run homer by Matthew Acosta 

MODESTO – 3
STOCKTON – 0
Box
Five Nuts pitchers combine for the shutout and Matt Sheffler blasts a two-run homer

RANCHO  CUCAMONGA – 3
INLAND EMPIRE – 1, Bottom 9
Box
Five Quakes pitchers hold the 66ers to one run on four hits

RAWHIDE GO 14 INNINGS TO TOP JETHAWKS

Photo: Steve Cummings/CalLeagueHeat.com

My first trip to the yard this year was a long one as the Visalia Rawhide needed 14 innings to down the Lancaster Jethawks 3-2 on Friday night. Yoel Yanqui led off the bottom of the 14th and drilled a double into the left-centerfield gap that drove home Cameron Duzenack, the runner who had been placed at second base, with the winning run.

The win maintained the Rawhide’s 10-game lead in the North division as the club improved to 29-13 overall and 18-4 at home.

Rawhide starter Cole Stapler went seven strong inning, striking out 11 Jethawks with no walks while allowing two earned runs on eight hits. Three Visalia relievers combined for seven innings of one-run ball, allowing only one hit, with Mack Lemieux earning the victory to improve his record to 3-0.

Visalia jumped ahead in the first inning with a Jancarlos Cintron solo home run, his third of the season, and added another run in the third for a 2-0 lead. Lancaster battled back against Stapler when CF Casey Golden homered to lead off the fifth inning. Four batters later an RBI double by Todd Czinege tied the game at two apiece.

Photo: Steve Cummings/CalLeagueHeat.com

It was nothing but zeroes for the next six innings, then both teams scored a single run in the 12th. On we went. Few of the 1,992 fans were left when Yanqui worked his magic four hours and 11 minutes after first pitch but those who remained saw the second walk-off win in two nights for the Rawhide.

Visalia is running away with the South while Lancaster is chasing down Rancho Cucamonga in the North division, remaining three games back of the Quakes, who  lost to Modesto.

WEEKEND ACTION

All four games have gone final with the race in the Cal League South tightening up while Visalia stretched its already big lead in the North. The Rawhide got a stand-out pitching performance from Josh Green with six strong innings as he protected a four-run first inning lead withoug much drama. Here are the finals from tonight’s action:

VISALIA – 7
RANCHO CUCAMONGA – 2
W – Josh Green (4-1), L – Michael Grove (0-1)

LANCASTER – 5
MODESTO – 4
W – Nate Harris (1-2), L – Scott Boches (1-3), S – Salvador Justo (3)
HR – Joe Rizzo (2)

STOCKTON – 2
INLAND EMPIRE – 7
W – Andrew Wantz (3-2), L – Pat Krall (0-2)

SAN JOSE – 4
LAKE ELSINORE – 6
W – Steven Wilson (2-0), L – Carlos Sano (0-1), S – Evan Miller (4)
HR – Esteury Ruiz (3)

The Rawhide now enjoy an eight game lead over Modesto in the North while Rancho Cucamonga has Lancaster just a game behind them with all four series continuing through Sunday. The Modesto Nuts send April Cal League Pitcher of the Month Ljay Newsome to the hill against Lancaster. See other matchups HERE.

ROAD TRIP: VISALIA

IMG_4752Visalia sits just about dead-center of the sprawling California League, a couple of hundred miles south and east of San Jose and about 250 miles north of Lake Elsinore. Saturday night I took the trip down Hwy 99 to Recreation Park to see the Rawhide take on the Lake Elsinore Storm and it was a true California League game on the field. The weather couldn’t have been better and the park was jammed with 2,623 fans who saw a real fireworks show, early and late.

Continue reading