Quakes, Sixers win, race tightens up

A the Quakes and 66ers returned home to both begin 6-game homestands on Friday, the California League South Division race couldn’t get much tighter.

But after Friday’s results, it did.

The Quakes won their fifth straight game, beating first-place High Desert 6-1. Meanwhile, the 66ers downed second-place Lancaster 5-4 in 11 innings. In addition, Lake Elsinore, which was tied with Lancaster for second place, defeated Visalia 11-1.

So after Friday, each team in the South Division has eight games remaining, and the standings are: High Desert and Lake Elsinore tied for first with 33-29 records; Lancaster and the Quakes tied for third, with 32-30 records, just one game back. The 66ers (29-33) are in last place, but are only four games out of first. The Sixers may technically be alive, but it would nearly be impossible for them to win the first half, needing to vault over four teams.

If the 66ers went 8-0 the rest of the would have a 37-33 record. Because the Quakes and High Desert play each other 5 more times before the end of the half, one of those two teams will need to have at least 35 wins. And with Lake Elsinore and Lancaster in the mix, everything needs to break right.