Fuentes chops down dozen Oaks in victory

Brian Fuentes became the second Lancaster hurler in as many days to strike out 12 batters as the JetHawks beat Visalia

One night after Patrick Dunham struck out 12 High Desert batters, Brian Fuentes duplicated the feat Tuesday against Visalia.

But unlike Dunham, who watched as his lead slipped away late, Fuentes also managed to take home a victory, as he led the JetHawks to a 9-4 win over the Oaks before a paid attendance of 3,047 at Lancaster Municipal Stadium.

"Fuentes came in and did a good job tonight," JetHawks manager Rick Burleson said. "He threw a lot of strikes."

John Kelly made sure Fuentes would get the win, as he held the Oaks scoreless in the final 2 1/3 innings to pick up his first professional save.

"It feels great to come in and do the job," Kelly said. "I'm just glad I helped my team win."

The win, which was the JetHawks' fifth straight over Visalia, ended Lancaster's three-game losing streak and pulled it within a game of .500 in the second half.

Tuesday wasn't the first time Fuentes had struck out 12 in a game this season. He also accomplished the feat May 16 against High Desert, a mark that remained untouched until Dunham's outing Monday.

Fuentes, who had 153 strikeouts last year with Class A Wisconsin, boosted his season total this year to 77. He also improved his record to 4-4.

Dee Jenkins, who entered Tuesday on a 17-game hit streak, had the roughest time against Fuentes, striking out four times. He also flew out to center in the ninth to end his hit streak.

Fuentes was dominant through the first four shutout innings, as he faced only one over the minimum.

After former JetHawk David Skeels singled into right field, Fuentes proceeded to strike out four in a row and five of the next six batters he faced.

The fifth inning wasn't quite as smooth for the left-hander as he allowed back-to-back singles to Nick Sosa and Eddie Lara. Sosa eventually scored on Skeels' groundout, trimming Lancaster's lead to 2-1.

The Oaks also touched the native of Merced for two runs on three hits and an error in the sixth and another run on two hits in the seventh, but by then the JetHawks were building him a comfortable lead.

Fuentes was lifted for Kelly after 6 2/3 innings. He allowed four runs, only one of which was earned, on nine hits and one walk.

"I think what has gotten him into trouble this year is the walks," Burleson said. "He did a great job of throwing strikes and getting guys out tonight."

With Fuentes holding the Oaks relatively silent, the Lancaster offense made sure to take care of the rest.

The JetHawks pounded out 14 hits off three Visalia pitchers, half of which went for extra bases. Even with all those extra-base hits, none of them cleared the fences.

"We've been swinging the bats well recently," Burleson said. "Our problems have really been in other areas."

Ramon Vazquez, who was inserted into the leadoff spot for the first time this season, led the charge with two doubles and two runs scored.

"I just wanted to try to put the ball in play and get on base so that I could score some runs," Vazquez said. "That's really all I can do. . . We put the ball in play, and they made a few mistakes."

Jayson Bass got things rolling for the JetHawks in the bottom of the fourth when he doubled in Jason Regan with a shot into the right-center field gap. Bass also scored on Matt Sachse's triple to left-center, giving the JetHawks a 2-0 lead.

The JetHawks added five runs in the fifth off four hits and a Visalia error to take a 7-1 lead.

Anton French opened the frame with an infield single before Vazquez moved him to third with a double. Cirilo Cruz Jr. scored French with a sacrifice fly.

Brendan Kingman followed with a double, before Regan tripled in both Vazquez and Kingman and scored on Bass' sacrifice fly. Luis Tinoco added an unearned run later in the inning after being hit by a pitch.