Homer beats 'Hawks in ninth

Ramon Ruiz hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth to help San Bernardino beat Lancaster.

By ED HARBOUR
Valley Press Staff Writer

Heading into the ninth with a two-run lead and stopper Brandon Parker coming in, the team also looked to break the hard-luck streak of starter Josue Matos.

It just wasn't meant to be.

Stampede designated hitter Ramon Ruiz capped a three-run ninth for San Bernardino with a walk-off two-run homer to right off Parker for a 4-3 win over Lancaster, before an announced crowd of 1,255 at San Bernardino Municipal Stadium.

The game drops the teams into a tie atop the South Division with five games left. Lancaster next plays a home-and-home series with High Desert and closes with three at home against Lake Elsinore. The Stampede finish out with one at home against Rancho Cucamonga and hits the road for one at Mudville and three at San Jose.

"I felt pretty good with that 3-1 lead," Lancaster (37-28) skipper Mark Parent said. "I had my horses out there. I'd do the same thing tomorrow night."

Parent called upon Parker (0-2), who leads the league with 16 saves, to close the door on the Stampede (37-28) in the ninth. After giving up a one-out inside-thepark home run to Darron Ingram, Jesus Feliciano singled to left, setting up Ruiz's home run. Heading into the ninth, Ingram and Ruiz had combined for one hit in their last 43 at-bats.

"You have to give them a little credit," Parent said. "They put the bat on the ball. It's not like we walked those guys in. They were aggressive when they needed to be."

The two starters for Tuesday night's matchup have suffered from the same problem this season.

Neither receive much support from their respective offenses when on the mound.

Matos has received 42 runs in his 12 starts for the JetHawks this season, while Phil Devey has received 30 in nine starts, with 12 in one start.

Matos lost his shot at a shutout, and eventually the win, in the bottom of the eighth, after giving up back-to-back two-out doubles to Michael Collins and Joe Thurston.

Allan Simpson came in to face Jimmy Gonzalez in the eighth and got the third baseman to fly out to center on the first, and only, pitch he threw.

On Tuesday, Matos went 7 innings, with the one run, striking out five and walking none.

"Matos threw a hell of a game," Parent said. "It just didn't happen for them tonight. But I like the way these guys are focused. So we go on to High Desert and try to win that game."

The JetHawks touched Devey for a run in the fourth to open the game's scoring.

Juan Silvestre led off the top of the fourth with a single straight back through the box. Bo Robinson and Craig Kuzmic followed with singles of their own, with Kuzmic's scoring Silvestre.

In the sixth, Silvestre walked to lead off, moved to third on a double by Kuzmic and scored on a sacrifice fly from Harvey Hargrove.

The JetHawks were able to tack on an insurance run in the eighth while making a bit of team history.

With the bases loaded and one out for Lancaster, Harvey Hargrove laid down a suicide-squeeze bunt with Terrmel Sledge charging in from third.

Sledge scored, in what was the first successful squeeze play in team history.

Uploaded June 14, 2000