JetHawks slammed by Blaze

By ED HARBOUR
Valley Press Assistant Staff Writer

But after Brett Casper torched a two-out grand slam to left off of Lancaster reliever Aaron Looper, the JetHawks fell 6-5 before a crowd of 887 at Sam Lynn Ball Park.

The loss was the fourth straight for Lancaster (27-10, 67-40) as its lead in the Cal League South division dwindled to 4 1/2 games over San Bernardino, a 2-1 winner over Visalia.

"Looper knows he has to keep the ball down to be successful," Lancaster Manager Mark Parent said.

"He got behind in the count on (Caspar) and left one up for him."

Lancaster starter Jeff Heaverlo (11-5) started the seventh by giving up a leadoff single to center to Scoop McDowell and walking Paul Turco.

After Ryan Luther laid down a sacrifice bunt toward third to advance both runners, Heaverlo was pulled in favor of Denny McDaniel.

The left-handed McDaniel stayed in the game long enough to intentionally walk Jeremy Luster to load the bases.

After the walk, Blaze (22-16, 59-49) manager Lenn Sakata brought in right-handed pinch-hitter Carlos Valderamma to bat.

That move prompted Parent to relieve McDaniel with the righthanded Looper.

Looper got the second out of the inning when Valderamma grounded into a fielder's choice. McDowell was out on a force play at home.

Casper followed with the grand slam, his 17th home run of the season and a 6-2 Blaze lead.

"I don't know if the guys are tired," Parent said, "and I don't want to start looking for excuses. But for a lot of these guys it's their first full year.

"It's been hot, but you're a professional and you have to preform every time out."

In the top of the ninth inning, Lancaster used a run-scoring single by Juan Silvestre and a tworun home run by Craig Kuzmic, both with two outs, to cut the lead to 6-5.

However, it was not enough as Bakersfield reliever Jason Bullard struck out the JetHawks' Peanut Williams for the final out.

The JetHawks offense struggled early against Bakersfield starter Will Malerich, but finally broke through against him in the fourth inning.

Third baseman Bo Robinson knocked a one-out infield single and moved to second on an errant throw by shortstop Marco Perlanete.

The JetHawks capitalized two batters later.

Catcher Scott Maynard looped a single to right, scoring Robinson and tying the game at 1-1.

Malerich was a late addition to the starting lineup, filling in for Tony Coscia, who complained of a stiff shoulder.

Malerich was relieved by Mike Zirelli to open the fifth.

To leadoff the seventh, outfielder Harvey Hargrove singled to center and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Antonio Perez.

Right fielder Terrmel Sledge drove in Hargrove with a single to right, his second hit of the game.

Heaverlo had a solid outing for most of Sunday, keeping his team close during his entire outing.

In the bottom of the first inning, Heaverlo got a pair of quick groundouts, but gave up three straight singles to allow Bakersfield to take a 1-0 lead.

He cruised on until the sixth when he issued a one-out walk to Turco.

Turco advanced to third after a pickoff throw from Heaverlo to first sailed into right field allowing him to move.

Ryan Luther followed with a single to center to score Turco.

Heaverlo tied up the Blaze during the rest of the game. He totaled seven strikeouts and two walks.

Uploaded July 31, 2000