9-2 record leads league

Peanut Williams hit a three-run homer in the seventh to lead Lancaster to the victory. The JetHawks are 9-2 and in first place

By ED HARBOUR
Valley Press Staff Writer

Williams broke out of his homer-less slump Sunday with a threerun shot to dead center in the seventh inning, keying the JetHawks' 7-4 victory over Rancho Cucamonga, before a crowd of 2,607 at Lancaster Municipal Stadium.

"It felt good to know I still can do it," Williams said. "I feel like I'm struggling a little right now.

"I'm still trying to find my swing, but I know in time it's going to come."

Williams also broke out of an 0for-14 slump on Saturday but is still not up to form at the plate. He entered Sunday's game with a .154 batting average.

"I wasn't really comfortable at the plate," Williams said of his slump. "I won't change anything out there. I hit .324 last year and I'm going to do the same thing this year."

In 68 games with Lancaster in 1999, Williams hit 26 home runs at a pace of one every 10.5 at-bats.

"It was nice to see Peanut come through," JetHawks manager Mark Parent said. "Sometimes it takes a home run and sometimes it takes a broken bat single to get you through. He's going to go through this many times over his career.

"It just takes something to click, to get that feeling back and get you back. . . in the zone. I think he just wasted his first zone in spring training."

Lancaster (9-2) again got a strong pitching performance from no. 1 starter Jeff Heaverlo.

Heaverlo threw six innings of four-hit, one-run ball while striking out eight.

That one run, a solo homer by first baseman Graham Koonce, was the first earned run Heaverlo has surrendered in 16 innings this year.

"That wasn't a very good pitch," Heaverlo said of the home run. "Every time we faced him we started him fastball inside and he kind of figured it out and made the adjustment."

To start the game Heaverlo gave up three consecutive one-out singles to the Quakes (5-6), to load the bases. Two of the singles were infield balls Heaverlo made stabs at only to deflect the ball away from his infielders.

"I made a couple mistakes in the first inning but as a pitcher you try to get everything you can," Heaverlo said.

He wormed his way out of the jam with no runs only to walk the first two batters he faced in the second.

"I had trouble locating my fastball early in the game," Heaverlo said. "My catcher (Travis McClendon) had to come out and tell me to just throw it over the plate."

Again Heaverlo worked his way out, this time by striking out the final two batters of the inning.

Relievers Allan Simpson and Kenny Rayborn combined to allow three unearned runs in the eighth inning drawing the Quakes to 7-4.

But stopper Brandon Parker again closed the door for his fourth save of the year, striking out three of the four batters he faced.

"It's nice to be able to hold them down when you have a lead," JetHawks manager Mark Parent said. "The bullpen and starters have been terrific.

"I'm pretty satisfied right now. The guys are going about their business the right way."

Lancaster, for the fifth time in six games, got the leadoff man on and around the bases in the first inning.

Sunday, shortstop Antonio Perez and outfielder Harvey Hargrove received back-to-back walks to open the bottom of the first.

Perez would score on a groundout by Juan Silvestre and Hargrove on a single by Craig Kuzmic to give the JetHawks an early 2-0 lead.

"The offense is scoring a lot of runs and making fewer mistakes," Parent said. "I'd rather see them be aggressive than not."

For Kuzmic, Sunday was his second straight multiple-hit game.

He finished the day 3-for-4, all singles, and went 3-for-4 on Saturday with a pair of home runs, including a grand slam.

With Quakes left-hander Mike Bynum starting the game, the switch-hitting Kuzmic was able to get some work from the right side of the plate and got a good look at Bynum's much touted slider.

"It was good to get some (at-bats) from the right side," Kuzmic said. "His slider was really one of his better pitches.

"We were hitting it a little bit and we were able to win the game."

Uploaded April 17, 2000