JetHawks wake up their sleeping offense

Lancaster collected 12 hits and pulled away for only its second home win in its last eight games.

After losing six of their last seven games at home, The Hangar also finally became the Lancaster JetHawks' Field of Dreams on Friday. Lancaster, which averaged slightly more than three runs per game in its first nine home outings this year, rediscovered its offense in a 9-2 victory over the Valley Division-leading San Jose Giants in front of 3,063.

Much like it did in a doubleheader sweep at Modesto on Tuesday, Lancaster pulled away for the easy win with solid pitching and a revitalized offense. After managing just 12 hits in the first two games of the series with San Jose - both losses - the JetHawks matched that hit total Friday. All 12 hits went for singles, and many came from players who came into the game battling slumps.

"We've had some guys that have been struggling at the plate," JetHawks manager Rick Burleson said. "Tonight a couple of those guys came through for us, like (Mike) Burrows and (Matt) Sachse. . . It's nice when you can get (struggling players) to produce and don't have to rely on the same people every night."

Part of the credit for the offensive improvement should go to Mariners Coordinator of Instruction Mike Goff and Hitting Coordinator Tommy Cruz, who are in town this week. Along with the JetHawks' coaching staff, Goff and Cruz have worked hard with the team during extended afternoon instruction sessions in hopes of reviving an offense that ranked second-to-last in the Cal League with a team batting average of .206 entering Friday's game.

"It's good to get out and get some extra work," said Brendan Kingman, who went 2-for-4 with two runs scored. "Sometimes you don't know what you're doing wrong, and it's good to get some advice from those guys to get back on track."

The JetHawks started finding their groove in the bottom of the second inning, when Jason Regan's one-out walk was followed by consecutive singles from Kingman, Burrows and Sachse.