June 12th, 2019 at 8:00 am 
by Lauren Jennings The Rancho Cucamonga Quakes came into their fifth and final game of a five-game series against the Inland Empire 66ers (Angels) needing to either beat the 66ers, or for the second place Lake Elsinore Storm (Padres) to lose in order to be crowned champions of the California League southern division for the first half.
About halfway through the Quakes game, Elsinore fell to the Lancaster JetHawks (Rockies) by a final score of 2-1.
Although the players on the field didn’t know what was happening, the Quakes front office and fans who were watching closely were able to celebrate the clinch.
However, once the final out of Tuesday night’s 7-5 win over the 66ers was in the books, the celebration began in the visitors clubhouse at San Manuel Stadium in San Bernardino, although a respectful and rather tame one.
As first-half champs, the Quakes earned an automatic berth into the 2019 California League postseason.
This is the fifth season in a row that the Quakes are headed to the playoffs. Over the last four years, 2015-2018, the Quakes were crowned California League Champions twice, in 2015 and again in 2018.
(Photo credit – Steve Saenz)
The Quakes have been crowned first-half south division champions in four of their last five seasons, only missing out in 2017 to Lancaster.
In 2018, they finished the first half with a .500 win percentage that somehow was good enough for them to not only be the first place team, but also get them the automatic playoff bid that comes with winning the first half.
This time around, the Quakes will finish well above the .500 mark, as they have a record of 39-24 with five games remaining in the first half.
* * * * *
Posted in 
I like that the Quakes didn’t take their foot off the gas pedal last night and still won the game despite not having to after Lake Elsinore lost theirs to Lancaster. Starter Gerardo Carrillo finally had a more productive outing even though he threw a ton of pitches as usual. Maybe with a playoff spot already secured moving forward, some of these struggling prospects will finally settle down and start performing to expectations for once…
It will be interesting to see what the Quakes Roster looks like when playoffs begin. Several could be playing in Tulsa, replaced by several who are currently with Great Lakes Loons. Love this Dodgers farm system!