JetHawks pull away in eighth

Lancaster scored three runs in the top of the eighth inning to beat High Desert

By ED HARBOUR
Valley Press Staff Writer

On Monday, Matos hung two pitches at opposite ends of his start and it nearly earned him the loss.

The game was decided in the top of the eighth as Lancaster scored three runs to take a 6-4 win over High Desert in front of 1,441 at Mavericks Stadium.

Terrmel Sledge started the eighth with a leadoff triple and scored the go-ahead run on a single by Bo Robinson.

Light-hitting second baseman Guillermo Martinez drove in Robinson and Harvey Hargrove to finish the game's scoring with a double to left.

"I tried to tell (Martinez) in my best Spanish to look for the bunt down third," Lancaster manager Mark Parent said. "My Spanish wasn't very good so I told him to just hit it and he understood that."

In the first inning, Matos (2-2) left a ball up in the zone to High Desert cleanup hitter Steve Neal, who deposited it over the 15-foot wall in center field for a two-run homer.

After giving up another run in the third, Matos appeared to settle down. But No. 9 hitter Maximo Vizcaino took his first pitch in the bottom of the seventh over the leftfield fence.

"Matos again threw a great game and he wasn't rewarded for it," Parent said. "He just had tremendous stuff. Every time out, he has a great outing."

As if not giving Matos any offensive support again was bad enough, the JetHawks lost infielder Willie Bloomquist for the game, when he removed himself from the lineup after swinging at one pitch in the top of the first.

Bloomquist was nursing his left hand after the game and is expected to see a doctor today concerning its condition.

In 1999, Bloomquist missed most of the short-season after breaking the hamate bone in his left hand.

Corey Freeman, who played well in the field despite an error but drew the collar (0-for-5, two strikeouts) at the plate, replaced Bloomquist in the lineup.

It was the second time since his call-up two weeks ago that Freeman has had to come in on short notice.

In his first game on the roster, Freeman replaced Robert Gandolfo in Visalia after Gandolfo sprained his ankle stepping on first base.

Julio Ayala (4-1) relieved Matos in the seventh, throwing twothirds of an inning and earning his fourth win of the year.

Brandon Parker once more got the call to close out the game for Lancaster in the ninth.

He gave up a leadoff single to Vizcaino, but got Travis Oglesby to ground into a game-ending double play for his league-leading 12th save of the season.

"Barring a few games this year, we have been consistent with guys coming out of the pen, ready to compete," Lancaster pitching coach Scott Budner said. "You're going to have bad outings, but these guys come out prepared to play ball."

The JetHawks found some offense in the fourth, getting four hits and two runs in the inning. Sledge and Robinson led off with singles and scored.

Robinson was plated on a sacrifice fly from Craig Kuzmic.

The favor was returned to Kuzmic in the sixth, when he scored on a sacrifice fly by catcher Travis McClendon, tying the game at 3-3.

"We played good situational baseball today," Parent said. "We hit and ran well, we saw signs, we stole bases."

Uploaded May 23, 2000