Atchison sparkles in return

Lancaster salvaged one game of the three-game series as Scott Atchison returned from Class-AAA Tacoma to earn the win.

After a solid start for Lancaster back on June 14 and two more good outings at Class-AAA Tacoma, Atchison settled in Friday to two-hit the Visalia Oaks over seven innings as the JetHawks took a 12-1 win at Recreation Park.

The win is just the fifth for a Southern Division team at Visalia this season, the second for Lancaster (46-33, 6-3) and also staved off the team's first three-game sweep of the year.

The Oaks (43-36, 5-4) were hitless through four innings before Hipolito Martinez broke out with a solo home run to left field.

But already down 5-0, that bit of offense was not enough to get the team going.

Atchison (2-3) finished with five strikeouts and one walk.

"Before I went out (pitching coach Scott) Budner told me not change anything," Atchison said, "he said keep doing what I was doing."

"I just stayed out of his way," Budner said. "Whatever (Tacoma pitching coach Jim) Slaton was doing with him, I didn't want to mess with."

In his last four outings, two at Lancaster and two at Tacoma, Atchison has given up five runs in 22 innings of work.

"He pitched a good game," Budner said. "He was aggressive and got ahead of hitters. If you do that you're going to win ball games."

On the offensive side for Lancaster, the popular but seldom seen Harvey Hargrove made his case for playing time with a 3-for-5 night.

In the top of the second inning, Hargrove lifted a three-run homer to left to give Lancaster a three-run lead. He would tack on a single and a double and also scored a run in the ninth as part of a six-run inning.

For Hargrove, it was his first home run in 69 games, dating back to Lancaster's first home stand of the season on April 13.

"I've been working with (manager Mark) Parent a lot on my hitting lately," Hargrove said after the game. "I don't think I'm a liability defensively but my stick has not been there since the third week of the season.

"I know I had to get it together if I wanted the playing time. We have five outfielders and we all want to play."

The scoring frenzy in the ninth was capped off by a three-run home run from Bo Robinson. Before the game Robinson was hit by a groundball below the right eye that left a black and blue mark.

"We really needed that game," Robinson said. "But I don't think I want to make a regular thing out of (getting hit in the face.)"

In the fifth, Willie Bloomquist hit a solo home run for a 4-0 JetHawks lead. That snapped a 59-game homerless drought for the second baseman.

In the bottom of the fifth, Parent was tossed from the game after arguing balls and strikes with the infield umpire, Troy Penrod.

Part of Parent's frustration stemmed from a call in the top of the fifth that cost the JetHawks a run. In the fifth, Terrmel Sledge was called out after Penrod ruled that Sledge had missed third base on his way home on a Craig Kuzmic single.

Uploaded July 1, 2000