By CHRIS BRANAM
Staff Writer
LANCASTER - At least this one kept the home fans interested.
After blowing out Bakersfield the last two nights, the Lancaster JetHawks were forced into extra innings by the Blaze.
But Jesus Marquez's second homer of the game, a two-run blast off Dalton Maine in the 10th, gave the JetHawks a 5-3 win in front of a paid attendance of 3,367 at The Hangar Wednesday night.
"They had been throwing me fastballs in," Marquez said. "The last one was high. . . perfect."
The JetHawks (27-27) won their fourth game in a row and moved within 1½ games of first-place Rancho Cucamonga in the California League's Southern Division. Bakersfield dropped to 15-38.
Lancaster put runners on first and third with nobody out in the bottom of the ninth, and eventually loaded the bases with two outs, but failed to score when Shane Monahan grounded out.
The Blaze and JetHawks traded late-inning home runs.
In the seventh, Marquez drove Bakersfield starter Rob Kell's 105th pitch of the game over the right-field wall to give Lancaster a 3-2 lead.
Bakersfield players and manager Graig Nettles disputed the homer, though, saying it had bounced off the top of the wall.
There wasn't any doubt about Juan Espinal's homer in the ninth that tied the game.
With one out, Lancaster manager Dave Brundage replaced Todd Niemeier with closer Tom Szimanski, who didn't fool Espinal on a pitch that he hit over the wall in left-center field.
For the third-straight game, the Blaze took an early lead, this time 2-0 in the third.
Ryan Hendricks, who began the season in Rancho Cucamonga, hit his first home run of the season, a bases-empty drive over the leftfield fence to give Bakersfield a 1-0 lead.
One out later, Chris Paxton, a prep standout at Palmdale High last year, reached on an infield single and moved to second on Kyle Towner's single.
Mauricio Gonzalez' single loaded the bases with one out, and Doug Carroll then hit a grounder up the middle that shortstop Mike Lanza fielded near second base.
Lanza dropped the ball, though, and with his play at second ruined, threw to first to get Carroll as Paxton scored.
Bakersfield got four hits in the inning against JetHawks starter Chris Beck, who rebounded to allow two more - singles by Alex Cabrera in the fourth and seventh.
But the most important thing for Beck in his longest outing of the season, seven innings, was something he didn't do - walk a batter.
Beck walked one in his last outing against Modesto, but he had averaged a little more than five walks in the three starts prior to that.
As good as Beck was, he was matched by Kell.
Kell, a left-hander on loan from Texas, gave up 10 hits in seven innings, but his ability to pitch out of jams in the first, fourth and seventh kept the game close.
Two Lancaster runners getting thrown out at home plate didn't hurt Kell, either.
In the first, Marcus Sturdivant led off with a single and moved to third with two outs but was stranded when Kell struck out Scot Sealy.
Even though the JetHawks broke through for a run in the third, it could have been worse for Kell and the Blaze, who committed two throwing errors.
Andy Augustine led off with an infield single and went to second when third baseman Juan Espinal overthrew first base.
Lanza singled to right, and Augustine scored when right fielder Doug Carroll's throw got by the catcher Paxton.
Lanza eventually went to third but was stranded, and Lancaster trailed, 2-1.
With two outs in the fourth, Lancaster put runners on first and second, and Brundage gambled.
Luis Figueroa broke for home on the front end of a double-steal, but was thrown out.
And in the fifth, Augustine walked and Lanza hit a drive off the wall in left field. Augustine tried to score but was thrown out on the relay home.
Lanza went to third on the throw and eventually did score on Sturdivant's sharp groundout to shortstop, tying the game at two.