By CHRIS BRANAM
Staff Writer
STOCKTON - Three times in the first four innings Tuesday night, the Lancaster JetHawks blew scoring opportunities.
When the Stockton Ports had the same chances, they went for the jugular.
The JetHawks left seven runners on base in the first four innings, including five in scoring position, as they were beaten 5-0 by the Ports in front of 1,502 at Billy Hebert Field.
"They were willing to give us some runs," Lancaster manager Dave Brundage said, "and it would have been a different ballgame."
Lancaster dropped to 21-25 in the second half and 57-59 overall. Stockton improved to 26-20.
The only bright spot in an otherwise forgettable game for the JetHawks was Jason Cook's double off the glove of Ports third baseman Junior Betances in the seventh.
Cook broke an 0-for-36 slump with the hit. It was his first hit since July 23.
The JetHawks couldn't take advantage of wildness by Stockton starter Mike Pasqualicchio, one of the top prospects in Milwaukee's organization, in the early going.
Pasqualicchio, a left-hander out of Lamar University taken with the Brewers' No. 2 pick in the June 1995 draft, has been hampered by arm troubles this year. He entered the game expected to throw about 60 pitches.
He threw 63, throwing three shutout innings while walking three and striking out four.
Pasqualicchio walked Cook and Jesus Marquez with one out in the first. But he got Scott Smith to ground out and struck out Scot Sealy.
"(Pasqualicchio) was going to give us a run in the first and we didn't take advantage," Brundage said.
James Clifford got the only hit off Pasqualicchio when he singled in the second. Clifford, though, was stranded.
And Marquez walked again in the third with two outs and went to second on a balk, but Pasqualicchio got Smith to ground out to third for the second time to end the threat.
The JetHawks' inability to get a hit with runners on base reached a peak in the fourth against Pasqualicchio's replacement, Jeff Kramer.
Kramer (5-3) walked the bases loaded with one out, but Mike Lanza and Shane Monahan both struck out.
Kramer went the last six innings, giving up three hits and striking out six.
"I'm going to give (Kramer) some credit," Brundage said. "He came right at us."
While the JetHawks were stranding runners, the Ports scored twice in the first and twice in the fourth off Greg Wooten to take a 4-0 lead.
Wooten (4-3) gave up hits to the first two batters he faced - Betances and Scott Krause - and by the time No. 3 hitter Drew Williams hit a sacrifice fly to score Betances from third, the Ports had taken a lead while seeing just six pitches.
Two outs later, Geoff Jenkins doubled to score Krause with the second run.
Wooten looked like he was settling down by the fourth, but he gave up a two-out single to Dan Klassen, on an 0-2 count, as the Ports took a 3-0 lead.
Klassen, who went 3-for-3, scored when second baseman Chris Dean let Bill McGonigle's grounder go off his glove for an error.
Stockton took a 5-0 lead in the sixth on Mickey Lopez's two-out infield single.
Wooten left after giving up nine hits in six innings. Although he tied his personal JetHawks high in strikeouts with eight, Wooten continued to struggle. He has given up 19 hits and 10 runs in his last 13 2/3 innings.