JetHawks drop meaningless season finale to High Desert, 13-9

Luckily for the 3,055 in attendance at Mavericks Stadium on Sunday, the Mavs went out with a bang.

High Desert's Kade Johnson and Chris Rowan each blasted two home runs, and all nine Mavs starters collected base hits as High Desert downed Lancaster, 13-9, in the season finale.

For the Mavericks, the victory marks the 60th win of the season and ends the year on a positive note.

For the JetHawks, the game had more meaning. The loss means Lancaster will enter the California League postseason as the South Division wild card, while Lake Elsinore clinched the second half title.

Lancaster, 40-30 in the second half, play the opener of the firstround best-of-three series with the Storm on Tuesday at Lancaster before traveling to Lake Elsinore for the final two games Wednesday and, if necessary, Thursday.

The JetHawks entered the ninth inning trailing, 13-5, but Mavs reliever
Gene Altman issued three consecutive one out walks to load the bases.

Designated hitter Chris Snyder slapped a two-run single to cut the deficit

to 13-7, and another pair of walks loaded the bases once more and brought catcher Grady Symonds to the plate with a chance to tie.

But the Mavs' Jack Krawczyk retired Symonds and Erick Macha as the rally came up short.

Late-game heroics are nothing new for the JetHawks in the second half, and
Lancaster manager Bill Plummer knows his team is resilient.

"It's been a real satisfying year," Plummer said. "The hardest part was to keep them in games for nine innings, but they've played real well and they
feel like they can win it all."

Snyder went 3-for-5 with two RBIs and Jay Garthwaite finished 2-for-3 with a home run for Lancaster.

Uploaded Sept. 2, 2002