JetHawks Kata loves The Diamond

Before the JetHawks current four-game series at Lake Elsinore, JetHawks shortstop Matt Kata said he liked The Diamond. His rationale was pretty simple, and it had nothing to do with the fact that Lake Elsinore's stadium is one of the nicest in the league: He's hit two of his six home runs at The Diamond, which is considered a pitcher's park.

Kata's Diamond success continued Monday, and Corey Myers joined the party, too.

Kata celebrated his first return trip since early June with home run No. 3, a fifth-inning, bases-empty blast off Elsinore starter Oliver Perez, scoring the winning run in Lancaster's 4-1 victory.

"It's almost like being at home," Kata said. "I feel comfortable, I see the ball well and I do pretty well here."

Myers hit a home run, a double and scored two runs, and starting pitcher Duaner Sanchez allowed one run in seven innings as the JetHawks won their season-best sixth consecutive game.

"It's pretty neat for me, in my first time in Lake Elsinore," Myers said. "The stadium's very nice."

Brandon Medders pitched a perfect eighth inning, and Jay Belflower picked up his ninth save with a perfect ninth inning. Belflower hasn't allowed an earned run this season in 22 innings.

The JetHawks threatened Perez through the first three innings, stranding five runners, before chipping into him over the next three innings. Myers hit his home run in the fourth and Kata followed in the fifth. Myers opened the sixth with a double and scored on a double by Cedrick Harris. Harris scored on a passed ball and a wild pitch.

"We need 25 guys to contribute to be successful," JetHawks manager Scott Coolbaugh said. "Seems like somebody else does it every night. Tonight it was Myers and Kata and Harris. The last few days it was J.D. (Closser) and Billy (Martin) and Robby (Hammock)."

Harris, Kata, Hammock and Myers each had two hits as the JetHawks out-hit the Storm, 10-5. Perez, a 19-year-old Mexico native making his fifth start since a promotion from the Midwest League, struggled with his control, walking five batters, the most in his Cal League stint. Perez (1-3) allowed two runs on eight hits in five innings and struck out eight.

For the fourth consecutive time, Sanchez (2-2) turned in a dominant performance. He allowed one run on five hits in seven innings, striking out nine. Four walks blemished the pitching line, but none of the four scored.

The Storm's only run was a gift from Sanchez. He hit Ben Johnson with a pitch to open the fourth inning, then Johnson advanced to third on a balk and a wild pitch. He scored on Ben Risinger's two-out single.

The JetHawks, making a late bid for a playoff spot, didn't gain ground on the two team's they're chasing. High Desert, leading the race for the final wild-card spot, beat Modesto, 6-3, and the Mavericks lead the JetHawks by eight games. San Bernardino, leading the division's second-half race, beat Bakersfield, 7-2, and also leads the JetHawks by eight games.

To win the division, the JetHawks have to catch both the Stampede and the Storm, so the wild card is a much more likely scenario. And while the JetHawks didn't gain any ground on the Mavericks, they're gaining confidence.

"That light at the end of the tunnel is getting brighter and brighter every day," Myers said.

Uploaded August 14, 2001