'Hawks use Sledge hammer

Six-game losing streak over after Lancaster stomps Stampede

By ED HARBOUR
Valley Press Staff Writer

LANCASTER - Right fielder Terrmel Sledge had been due in the power department for some time.

Sledge followed up a solo home run Tuesday with a pair of two-run homers Wednesday, as the JetHawks snapped a six-game losing streak with a 9-6 win over San Bernardino before a crowd of 1,836 at Lancaster Municipal Stadium.

Before hitting three homers in the last two days, Sledge had six home runs on the season.

"I'm not sure what's going on," Sledge said of his recent power surge. "I'll take all the hits I can get, but if I hit the gap and it's got a little pop, I'll take those too.

"But I'm still no Juan Silvestre."

The victory also extends the team's home-winning streak to 15 games, making them 19-1 at the Hangar in the second half.

The Stampede are 1-7 at the Hangar this season and have been outscored 67-44 in those eight games. San Bernardino is 11-32 at Lancaster in franchise history.

The loss drops the Stampede (22-17) 5 1/2 games back of Lancaster (28-12) in the California League South Division.

"I think we all got sick of what we saw on the road trip," Lancaster manager Mark Parent said. "We made a real conscious effort to refocus."

The 3-for-4 night for Sledge ups his season average to .331 and places him second behind Rancho Cucamonga's Shane Hopper among active California League players.

"Sledge has made some adjustments at the plate and it's really paying off," Parent said. "It's stuff I told him over a month ago . . . and he's putting it into practice now."

Sledge's four runs batted in give him 70 on the year, good for third on the team behind Silvestre's 110 and Craig Kuzmic's 82.

"We started off aggressively on offense," Parent said, "and looked comfortable. Then (Melqui) Torres made some adjustments on the mound to keep us in the game."

Torres started the game for the JetHawks, lasting six innings to even his record at 4-4.

"He made some good pitches tonight," pitching coach Scott Budner said. "He battled out a couple of times on key at-bats."

Torres gave up four runs, all earned, on nine hits, including a two-run home run by Jimmy Gonzalez and an run-scoring double by Pete Paciorek in the second.

"He gave us six good innings," Parent said of Torres. "It wasn't his best but it was better than the last time and he kept us in the game."

Wednesday also saw the return to action of reliever Allan Simpson.

Simpson was recovering from a sore right arm and had not pitched since July 14. The rust showed in his return.

He gave up two runs in innings work, facing three batters, walking one and giving up a hit.

"It was nice to get Simpson a little bit of work," Parent said. "He didn't look sharp but he hasn't thrown in over two weeks."

Aside from Sledge's 3-for-4 night, the remainder of the Lancaster lineup totaled six hits, two from designated hitter Freddy May. Sledge and May both scored twice in the contest.

What the offense did do, was take advantage of seven Stampede walks, translating into three runs.

Uploaded August 3, 2000