By CHRIS BRANAM
Valley Press Staff Writer
LAKE ELSINORE - Ty Bilderback had absolutely no idea where the ball was. Then Jose Cintron had no clue where the ball was going.
But one thing was clear: The Lancaster JetHawks had blown out an opponent after a team meeting earlier in the day.
The JetHawks took advantage of a muffed fly ball by Lake Elsinore's Bilderback and four early walks issued by Storm starter Cintron en route to an 11-3 victory over the Storm Saturday night.
This one was over after the third, when the JetHawks sent 10 men to the plate and scored four runs.
Halfway through that rally, Joe Mathis hit a high fly ball to left that fell behind a bewildered Bilderback. One run scored on the play and Mathis had a double.
"I knew that was a base hit all the way," Mathis kidded after the game. "It just disappeared on (Bilderback). It's hard for me to see, too."
The JetHawks went on to score another run in the inning when Cintron (2-2) walked Luis Molina with the bases loaded.
That made it 6-1. By the end of the fourth, Lancaster led 8-1. The JetHawks pounded out 13 hits, including five doubles.
"We had a little meeting today and it looked like they responded," said Lancaster batting coach Dana Williams. "We jumped on them early and it snowballed from there."
Lancaster appropriately won on the day one of its alumnus finally played a major league game.
Jose Cruz Jr., whose last game with Lancaster came at The Diamond last year, was promoted to Seattle Saturday and went 0-for-4 with an RBI against the Detroit Tigers.
On a more immediate level, an announced crowd of 6,028 at The Diamond got a chance to see Matt Apana win on the night he was promoted to Class AA Memphis.
He went five innings and gave up three runs in his longest start since joining the JetHawks out of extended spring training, including back-to-back home runs by Norm Hutchins and Jon Vanderiend in the fifth.
"I was getting a little tired, but at least it was in the fifth and not the third," said Apana, who pitched a total of 6 2/3 innings in his first two starts.
Apana (1-0) got out of a basesloaded jam in the first when he induced John McAninch to ground into an inning-ending double play.
"All I could do was stay composed and battle my way through it," Apana said.
After that, it was smooth sailing for the JetHawks (28-29). Relievers Brian Sweeney and Rafael Rivera combined to keep the Storm hitless after the fifth. Sweeney threw three perfect innings.
The JetHawks are expected to receive right-hander Javier Gutierrez from Wisconsin to take Apana's spot on the roster.