Red-hot offense blazes fun trail

Lancaster collected 10 hits and pitcher Julio Ayala improved to 4-1 with seven strong innings of work.

Gee, it's great to be young and a Lancaster JetHawk these days.

Did we mention that starting pitcher Jason Verdugo, one of Bakersfield's few bright spots this season, was hors de combat after the second inning?

Tight shoulder muscle for Verdugo. Loose-swinging bats for the JetHawks, who pounded out 10 hits in a 10-3 dismantling of the Blaze.

The 3,063 fans who watched chic geek Myron Noodleman prance about The Hangar also saw rehabbing outfielder Marcus Sturdivant return after a two-year absence. Sturdivant and his surgically-repaired left knee went 2-for-5, scored once and stole a base.

"We've got it going," second baseman Adonis Harrison said.

Indeed they do.

Regan's 2-for-4, three-RBI night extended his hitting streak to six games and displayed more signs that his early-season miseries are part of the learning process.

"I expect him to take off again when it warms up," Lancaster manager Rick Burleson said. "He's just starting to get into his groove right now."

He's got plenty of company. The 10 hits came from eight JetHawks. Lancaster scored in every inning but the first, fourth and eighth.

"It's nice to see the bats are coming around," Burleson said. "It's not just Regan, but (Anton) French has made quite a contribution, (Jayson) Bass, slowly but surely, is coming. . . (Francisco) Santiestaban doesn't get the opportunities that a (Karl) Thompson does, but Santi gives you everything he has."

Friday night, that included two RBI, both coming on a second-inning triple to no-man's land in right-center. That scored Regan and Bass.

Brendan Kingman, the Cal League batting leader, celebrated his 25th birthday by scoring three times and collecting a single in one of his two official trips to the plate.

Kingman walked and scored on Regan's double in the second. He later singled and scored on right fielder Don Denbow's throwing error in the sixth.

And not wanting to tangle with the .355-hitting Kingman after singles by Sturdivant and Harrison, Blaze reliever Jeff Hultzler walked Kingman to load the bases. This set the table for Regan, who highlighted the seventh inning with a two-run single. Bass capped it with a double to short center.

Not that he needed the help, but Ayala handled things from there. The left-hander improved to 4-1 with his seven-inning, seven-strikeout outing.

"The first time around, he was trying to use his curveball and they weren't even biting at it," Burleson said. "He was throwing it down where he has to. Then, he was throwing it over for strikes, and the second time around he struck out guys with his fastball because they were looking for the breaking ball."

The Blaze were looking for anything positive, still reeling from a three-game sweep at home by a barely mediocre Rancho Cucamonga team. They arrived just in time to play victim to the JetHawks' sixth win in their last eight games.

Thus, it requires no mental gymnastics to see the Blaze sporting the league's worst record at 19-29. Nor is that hard to comprehend, not with a 4.23 ERA (ninth in the 10-team league), a .237 team batting average (eighth) and a .268 opponent batting average that is better than any team's offensive output this season.

Verdugo, who is tied with Lancaster's Brian Sweeney for the Cal League lead in wins with six, departed after the second inning with tightness in his shoulder. He said he didn't feel sharp with any of his pitches from the time of pregame warmups into the game.