By CHRIS BRANAM
Valley Press Staff Writer
VISALIA - There isn't anything fancy about the way Rob Luce has pitched this season.
Nothing spectacular, just efficient.
"He's doing all the things right, right now," Lancaster JetHawks pitching coach Jim Slaton said after Luce beat the Visalia Oaks 6-1 on Monday night at Recreation Park.
Luce (5-1) wasn't overpowering - he struck out two. But he jumped ahead of nearly every Oaks hitter.
Visalia managed only five hits against Luce, who also showed good control with only one walk.
"My sinker was working real well," Luce said. "I was getting ahead of the hitters."
That is what impressed Slaton the most about Luce's outing. Luce kept himself in the game by only throwing 96 pitches.
If he had not given up a solo homer to David Filchner in the eighth, Luce would have gone out in the ninth in an attempt to complete a shutout.
"He's putting the ball in play early in the count," Slaton said. "He's establishing his fastball early in the count by moving it around in the strike zone."
Luce was backed by a five-run JetHawks' rally in the eighth that gave them some breathing room.
Lancaster (16-16) scored all its runs with two outs in the inning. Shawn Buhner and Dusty Wathan both hit two-run doubles in the outburst.
Buhner doubled off Brad Blumenstock after the Oaks had intentionally walked James Clifford with first base open.
"I was just trying to get a pitch I could drive," said Buhner, adding that he wasn't bothered by the fact that Visalia chose to pitch to him instead of Clifford. "I was just trying to do my job."
Blumenstock gave up four runs in the inning, spoiling what had been a pitchers' duel between Luce and Visalia's young left-hander, Benito Baez.
Baez made few mistakes, including giving up a solo homer to Miguel Correa in the fourth.
For a while, it looked like Correa's homer would stand up. Luce retired eight batters in a row at one point and did not allow a runner past first until the sixth.
Luce credited a diving stop by Clifford at first base that robbed leadoff hitter Ryan Christenson of a hit in the first as a confidence builder.
The JetHawks made three errors in Luce's last start, a loss to Bakersfield in which Luce gave up nine runs but none were earned.
"This time, they played great defense behind me," he said.
Correa broke up a scoreless tie in the fourth with a long drive that easily cleared the left field fence. He had almost homered in his first at-bat when he roped a line drive down the left-field line that was foul by about five feet.
It was the fourth homer for Correa, and second in the series, since he was sent down to Lancaster from Class AA Memphis on April 18. He also doubled in the first and had an infield single in the sixth to pick up his 10th multi-hit game as a JetHawk.
The homer to Correa was one of the few mistakes Baez made.
The Dominican, who turns 20 today, only allowed five hits. He struck out five and walked one.
Rafael Rivera retired the Oaks in order in the ninth in his second appearance for the JetHawks.
The JetHawks are off today, then they begin a three-game series at San Bernardino on Wednesday.