JeHawks hit road after loss

With a 13day road trip looming on the horizon, Lancaster failed to sweep Visalia as starter Greg Wooten struggled from the start

Yet, the Lancaster JetHawks ended their three-game series against Visalia with a 6-2 loss to the Oaks in front of 4,366 fans Thursday night at The Hangar.

Lancaster now heads on a 13-day, 12-game road trip that starts today with three games in San Jose. That will be followed by three games in Lake Elsinore, then back north for a three-game set with Modesto, followed by another three-game series in Stockton.

"It would have been good to have gone on the road with three wins in a row, but we still have a long road ahead of us and we have to battle," Lancaster's Brendan Kingman said.

Of course, Lancaster might want to leave town after its performance Thursday night.

Again, JetHawks starter Greg Wooten failed to display the velocity he exhibited two years ago in Lancaster. Coming back from a shoulder injury that kept him in extended spring training, Wooten had trouble against the Oaks.

"I think his velocity has been getting better and better, but tonight he just had a little letdown," Lancaster catcher Karl Thompson said. "He got a few pitches up in the zone and his off-speed stuff wasn't as effective. It wasn't tight and wasn't breaking much."

Of course, it could have been worse for Wooten and the JetHawks early in the game.

The Oaks made scoring look easy in the first inning with a leadoff double by Dionys Cesar, followed by an RBI single by Dee Jenkins.

In the second, Wooten continued to struggle. Rob DeBoer opened with a walk, and Juan Camilo hit an RBI single off the glove of Lancaster second baseman Chris Dean to score DeBoer. After a double by David Skeels put runners on second and third, Wooten began to catch some breaks.

Omar Rosario hit a comebacker to Wooten, who threw home to Thompson to stop Camilo. The catcher ran Camilo back to third before recording the second out. With two runners still in scoring position, Wooten coaxed a pop-up to end the inning.

The close calls continued in the third inning. Wooten walked Adam Robinson before Jenkins doubled. But Wooten again got a break when Tom Russin's line drive was hit right at Lancaster third baseman Jason Regan. That was followed by a called third strike, a walk, and an inning-ending pop-up to Regan.

Wooten departed after the sixth, giving up six earned runs, nine hits and four walks while striking out just one. He made 96 pitches.

Meanwhile, Visalia pitcher Randy Niles kept the JetHawks out of sync with off-speed pitches. In six innings of work, Niles allowed just one run on five hits and posted four strikeouts.

"(Niles) threw a lot of off-speed stuff," Kingman said. "Then when he threw the fastball, I was late on it. He had good stuff and pitched real well."

Lancaster did get to Niles in the bottom of the third inning. With one out, Thompson led off with a double. Ramon Vazquez followed with a single to right field that scored Thompson, cutting the lead to 2-1.

The Oaks put the JetHawks away after that, scoring a sacrifice fly in the fifth, then cashing in on a tired Wooten in the sixth.

Kingman created some instant offense in the eighth inning with a solo shot to left-center field, making the score 6-2.

Kevin Gryboski came on in relief and pitched two scoreless innings, giving up two hits. Justin Kaye threw a scoreless ninth and did not give up a hit.

Overall, Visalia peppered the JetHawks' pitcher with 11 hits, while Lancaster managed two runs on nine hits.