JetHawks hammer Mudville

Apparently, poor defense is contagious, too, and the Mudville Nine caught a nasty case of it from the JetHawks. The Nine committed five errors over a two-inning span, helping the JetHawks to a 12-3 victory.

"It was nice to see somebody else go through the torture that this staff has seen," JetHawks manager Scott Coolbaugh said.

Mudville had more problems than bad defense, though, such as bad pitching and bad luck. The JetHawks started the game by loading the bases on three singles, two of which never left the infield. Mudville starter Jorge Cordova topped it off by walking Billy Martin, driving in Lancaster's first run before ever recording an out.

The JetHawks batted around in the first, scoring four runs on five hits. They added two runs in the third, three in the fourth, two in the fifth and one in the eighth. In the first five innings, only once did Lancaster send fewer than seven batters to the plate.

Just two of Lancaster's 12 runs were unearned, despite Mudville's five errors. Shortstop Ray Olmedo and center fielder Serafin Rodriguez each committed two errors, and left fielder Ryan Lundquist made one. Two errors came in the third inning, three in the fourth.

The victory snaps Lancaster's three-game losing streak and Mudville's nine-game winning streak, and gives the JetHawks their first win at Billy Hebert Field in six tries this season. The JetHawks avoided going winless in an opposing stadium for an entire season for the first time in the franchise's history.

"Offensively, we did a real good job all three games of this series," Coolbaugh said. "Tonight, we got the pitching, too."

Starting pitcher Doug Slaten provided that pitching with eight solid innings. After allowing single runs in each of the first two innings, Slaten (8-7) settled down and dominated the Nine.

"I just felt like I got confident and felt good," Slaten said. "Physically and mentally, I felt good."

He allowed three runs, one earned, on seven hits in eight innings, and just one run on three hits over the final six innings. He walked three and struck out five.

"He was around the zone and he was aggressive," Coolbaugh said. "When he gets into trouble is when he doesn't locate his pitches. The first couple of innings, he struggled a bit. But he was able to buckle down and get ahead. That's the key for him."

In his last three starts, Slaten is 3-0 with a 1.96 ERA, and this made him Lancaster's second pitcher with a winning record. Hatuey Mendoza is 7-5.

Brandon Medders allowed one hit in the ninth before closing out the game.

Nine starter Jorge Cordova (9-7) allowed nine runs, seven earned, on 10 hits in 3 innings. Reliever Nelson Lara allowed two runs on three hits in 2 innings. Both pitchers walked three JetHawks.

Cedrick Harris had four hits for the JetHawks, Kevan Burns had three, and Brain Gordon and Ryan Jones each had two. Gordon drove in four runs and scored two, Burns drove in two runs, and Harris scored two.

Uploaded August 23, 2001