When you think of what a baseball playoff game should be like, you immediately think of two evenly matched teams fighting it out like a couple of heavyweight prize fighters. That’s exactly what the 3,084 fans at LoanMart Field got on Saturday night in Game-1 of the California League South Division playoffs between the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes and the High Desert Mavericks.

Those watching or listening to the game knew right away that this was going to be a good one when Quakes starter – right-hander Chase De Jong – allowed no runs and only four hits with two walks and eight strikeouts through his 6.2 innings of work. But De Jong was matched almost pitch for pitch by Mavericks right-hander David Ledbetter, who also did not allow a run while limiting the Quakes normally strong offense to only three hits in his 6.0 innings of work. In fact, Ledbetter did not allow a Quakes base runner to reach third base.

Quakes right-hander Chase De Jong was absolutely brilliant in Saturday’s Cal League South Division Championship Series opener. The 21-year-old Long Beach native allowed no runs and only four hits in his 6.2 innings pitched. (Photo credit – Ron Cervenka)

Ledbetter passed the torch to left-hander Felix Carvallo in the seventh inning. All Carvallo did was allow only one hit – a single to Quakes shortstop Tim Locastro – walk two and strikeout four in his two innings of work. Carvallo was followed by David Ledbetter’s twin brother Ryan Ledbetter, who pitched the ninth and 10th innings.

On the other side of the ledger, De Jong was replaced by left-hander Michael Johnson in the top of the seventh inning. Johnson pitched a scoreless and hitless 1.1 innings while striking out one. He, in turn, was replaced by right-hander Josh Sborz, who lit up the LoanMart Field radar gun to 96-MPH several times. Sborz was in complete and dominating control allowing only two hits while walking one and striking out three in his 1.2 innings of work until he was struck in the right forearm by a line drive off the bat of Mavs center fielder Chris Garcia and had to exit the game.

With runners on first and second and two outs, right-hander Kyle Hooper took over for Sborz and got Mavs shortstop Isiah Kiner-Falefa – the only batter he would face – to fly out to Quakes left fielder Jacob Scavuzzo to end the top half of the 10th inning with the score still tied 0-0.

Although the Quakes had their number nine, one and two batters coming to the plate in Spencer Navin, Devan Ahart and Tim Locastro in their half of the 10th inning, there wasn’t a Quakes fan in the house who wasn’t hoping for their number three batter to come to the plate – Quakes slugger and Dodgers top first base prospect Cody Bellinger, who finished the regular season with a team-high 30 home runs and a Cal League-leading 103 RBIs. But to do so, at least one of the first three batters would have to reach base.

Navin promptly grounded out to third base but Ahart works out a crucial walk. Now all the Quakes needed to do to get to Bellinger was avoid the double play, which they did when Locastro singled to left moving the winning run into scoring position at second base.

The script was written, the stage was set and the star delivered. Bellinger launched Ledbetter’s third pitch – a 2-1 curveball – over the right field fence for a dramatic three-run walk-off home run.

“The guy throws really hard so the first couple pitches I was [looking] fastballs and he threw one by me,” Bellinger said after the game. “I had a pretty good feeling that a curveball was coming and he left it up and I put a good swing on it.”

It was as if Bellinger was working off of a script when he hit his dramatic three-run walk-off home run in the 10th inning of Saturday night’s playoff series opener. (Photo credit – Ron Cervenka)

Bellinger acknowledged that although he and his teammates were hitting the ball hard all night, most were hit directly at someone and they just couldn’t break the game open against a very good Mavericks pitching staff.

“We had four off days so I think we were a little rusty,” said Bellinger. “We really didn’t face live pitching in four days so I think that had something to do with it. But like you said, we were hitting the balls hard and that’s just how baseball goes sometimes.

“It’s a big win, first game of the playoffs,” Bellinger added. “Whether we were rusty or a little nervous, it’s always good to get the first one out of the way.”

No walk-off home run would be complete without the obligatory pie in the face.
(Photo credit – Ron Cervenka)

Ironically, it was Kyle Hooper who was credited with the win, this in spite of having faced only one batter. But like Bellinger said – “That’s just how baseball goes sometimes.”