Ulloa comes through with elusive victory

Emmanuel Ulloa tossed six-plus scoreless innings to help Lancaster beat Lake Elsinore Wednesday night.

By ED HARBOUR
Valley Press Staff Writer

Lancaster took a ride on the back of starter Enmanuel Ulloa to top Lake Elsinore 3-0 in front of an announced crowd of 1,724 at Pete Lehr Field.

Ulloa tied the Storm in knots for 6 scoreless innings, scattering three hits before leaving in the seventh with one out and the bases loaded and a 2-0 lead.

"Manny threw a great game and was rewarded for it," Lancaster manager Mark Parent said. "He threw a great game and we needed it."

When he left the game, Ulloa's decision still was in jeopardy. But Allan Simpson came in to throw one pitch in the seventh, getting Ariel Delgado to ground into an inning-ending double play.

"I don't think that's ever happened to me, throwing one pitch and getting two outs," Simpson said. "That's kind of new to me, but I got us out of the inning.

"Manny really set the pace and tone for all of us out there on the mound today. He was aggressive inside and around the plate."

The win upped Ulloa's record to 3-2, as he finished with five strikeouts and a pair of walks on the night.

Heading into the seventh, Ulloa had faced 20 batters in the game.

"His ball had some activity in the zone and they weren't able to hit it well," Lancaster pitching coach Scott Budner said. "He was out in front of them for most of the game."

Closer Brandon Parker, who was unavailable with back pains on Tuesday, was again asked to hold the lead for Parent. Parker dropped the side in order for his league-high 13th save. The JetHawks (29-18) got on the board in the fifth, after Craig Kuzmic launched a solo home run to left, off of Lake Elsinore (22-25) starter Wes Crawford (3-2). He threw a complete game in earning the loss.

"Manny was great and it turned out all we needed was that one run," said Kuzmic, whose blast was his sixth of the year.

"Kuz's homer really sparked the offense tonight," Parent said. "They're a good club, I'm glad we were able to beat them."

Bo Robinson bolstered the lead in the sixth with a double down the third-base line that scored Terrmel Sledge.

Robinson (1-for-4) extended his hitting streak to 13 games and Sledge (1-for-4) pushed his to 12.

Guillermo Martinez set up an insurance run for the JetHawks with a leadoff triple in the eighth.

"Guillermo came through for us again late in the game," Parent said. "Those are some big hits he's had for us."

Martinez trotted home one batter later on Corey Freeman's sacrifice fly to deep center.

The shutout was the third of the year for Lancaster and the first time the Storm had been blanked at home in 2000.

Uploaded May 25, 2000