Late Blaze engulfs 'Hawks in Game 2

Lancaster blew a ninth-inning lead as they fell to Bakersfield in an early season contest.

Game no. 2? That was nearly Juan Silvestre's.

The Lancaster JetHawks used a three-run homer from the leftfielder to take a 4-3 lead over Bakersfield but failed to hold the lead and fell, 5-4, in front of 1,138 fans at Sam Lynn Ball Park.

"It was very bad for our team," Silvestre said. "We have to keep going and play the game.

"If we lose or win, it was something that had to happen."

Silvestre's home run was his first of the year after hitting 21 at Class-A Wisconsin last season.

"Juan hit that big bomb for us," pitching coach Scott Budner said. "It was a good ballgame. We battled."

Going into the ninth, Lancaster was clinging to that 4-3 lead with Cody Morrison on the hill.

The JetHawks weren't clinging for long as Carlos Valderrama led off the inning with a solo homer to right center that tied the game at 4-4.

"They have a very good team," Silvestre said, "but we'll come back tomorrow."

Morrison got Julio Cordido to ground out for the inning's first out only to give up a single to Ryan Luther, the Blaze's ninth batter.

Nelson Castro followed with a sharply hit ground ball to third baseman Vaughn Schill, who promptly threw the ball over the head of first baseman Bo Robinson.

Luther easily scored the game's deciding run on the play.

The relief trio of Aaron Looper, Denny McDaniel and Morrison nearly blew the lead Silvestre's home run provided earlier.

A leadoff single surrendered by Looper to Scoop McDowell and a walk by McDaniel to Jeremy Luster gave the Blaze runners at the corners with one out.

JETHAWKS: Silvestre could have been hero
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McDaniel and Morrison struck out back-to-back batters to neutralize the threat.

"The kids battled their way back into the game," Budner said. "Unfortunately we weren't on the right end of it.

"It's a long season, a long way to go. We have to come out and play hard every day."

The woes of Chris Mears in the Cal League continued on Friday night in his first start of 2000.

After giving up just one home run in 13 starts at Wisconsin last year, Mears gave up 12 in 10 starts at Lancaster in 1999.

That trend apparently carried over into 2000 for the right-hander who also gave up a pair to the Blaze. Mears allowed a solo shot to McDowell in the first and a tworun shot from Jeremy Luster in the third inning

"Chris is a sinker-ball pitcher and he was way up in the zone," Budner said. "After that third inning we really shut them down."

Mears walked McDowell to lead off the third inning and set up Luster's home run.

"When Chris finally got his pitches downstairs in those last two innings he pitched, he was effective," Budner said. "He got behind early on a lot of guys and they took advantage of that."

The JetHawks plated their first run of the game in the fifth inning, when Robinson and Harvey Hargrove tagged Bakersfield starter Vance Cozier with back-to-back hits.

The next batter, catcher Maynard, hit a ground ball to the right side to score Robinson from third.

Hargrove's hit was his second double in as many games. Hargrove is off to a 3-for-7 start on the new season.

As a team, Lancaster had just five strikeouts at the plate, well below hitting coach Dana Williams' limit of eight.

With the series tied 1-1, manager Mark Parent will send out right-hander Melqui Torres to face Bakersfield's Bill Malloy in the series' rubber match.

Uploaded April 8, 2000