JetHawks can't halt bleeding

Rancho Cucamonga scored six runs in the second inning to beat Lancaster, which left nine runners on base.

The law of averages may have caught up with the Lancaster JetHawks Friday, as Rancho Cucamonga pulled away early for an easy 11-3 victory before a Family Night crowd of 6,347 at The Epicenter.

The Quakes scored six runs in the second inning to take control of the game.

"It seems like we've had a lot of those four-, six- or eight-run innings against us," JetHawks manager Rick Burleson said. "We can't seem to stop them. It's awfully sickening to watch. We can't seem to stop the bleeding."

Lancaster fell for fourth time in its last five games.

The loss came one night after the JetHawks picked up 19 hits, the most the Quakes have allowed all season, in an extra-inning victory.

The main reason that game went extra innings was the 12 base runners Lancaster stranded in the first nine innings. The JetHawks tied a season high for the third time, stranding 14 runners.

On Friday, the most costly of the nine runners left on base by Lancaster were the three in the first inning.

"You can't afford to leave guys on base like that," Burleson said.

The JetHawks seemed to have Quakes' starter Brent Iddon's number early, as the first three batters to step in the box singled. Ramon Vazquez, Giomar Guevara and Cirilo Cruz Jr. combined to load the bases with no outs.

But Iddon bore down and struck out his close friend and former teammate in the Australian Winter League, Brendan Kingman, on three pitches. The right-handed native of Sydney, Australia, followed that up by punching out Jayson Bass on four pitches.

"Those first two guys have no pressure on them," Burleson said. "You just have to put the ball in play."

Iddon ended the threat when he fielded a comebacker from Luis Tinoco and threw to first to retire the side.

Lancaster didn't get another runner on base until the third inning, but by then, it already was out of the game, as Rancho Cucamonga held an 8-0 advantage.

The main reason for that lopsided score was, unlike the JetHawks, the Quakes made the most of their opportunities and pushed runs across.

Leadoff batter Brian McClure quickly gave Rancho the lead, when he smacked John Thompson's second pitch of the game over the right-field wall. Two batters later, A.J. Johnson blasted a 2-1 pitch over the left-field wall to make the score 2-0 after the first inning.

Things got worse for Lancaster from there, as the Quakes scored six runs in the bottom of the second thanks to three hits, two walks and two errors by the Lancaster outfield.

"In that second inning, we didn't do a good job of pitching or on defense," Burleson said. "Those are two things you have to do well to win in this game."

All eight runs - five of which were earned - were charged to Thompson (0-5), who lasted only 1 1/3 innings. In all, Thompson allowed four hits, three walks, hit a batter and threw a wild pitch.

The JetHawks broke through in the fourth, as they scored two runs on three hits and two Rancho Cucamonga errors.

But the Quakes answered with three runs in the bottom half of the inning.

The inning was lowlighted by a scary moment for the JetHawks when relief pitcher John Kelly and catcher Francisco Santiesteban collided near the first-base line as both players attempted to field a chopper off the bat of Gus Kennedy.

As Santiesteban and Kelly remained on the ground in pain, Johnson crossed the plate and Kennedy cruised into second with an unusual infield double.

Kelly was able to roll over and get up to try to walk off the pain, but Santiesteban lay motionless on his stomach. After awhile, JetHawks trainer Troy McIntosh was able to roll Santiesteban over. A few minutes later, the Cubanborn catcher got to his feet and was led off the field.

Both players were removed from the game, but said they were all right. Kelly has a bruise on his leg and Santiesteban was feeling dizzy and probably will be held out today to make sure he doesn't have a concussion.