Unexpected faces step up for Lancaster

Ramon Vazquez tripled in the game-tying run and scored the go-ahead run as Brian Fuentes registered 12 strikeouts to lead Lancaster past San Bernardino

As the Valley Division wildcard race begins to heat up, the Lancaster JetHawks have found those players. The difference is, it seems to change from night to night.

On Wednesday, it was shortstop Ramon Vazquez and starting pitcher Brian Fuentes who stepped to the forefront. Vazquez tripled in the game-tying run in the seventh inning, then scored the go-ahead run as the JetHawks grabbed a 4-2 victory to complete a three-game sweep of the San Bernardino Stampede before a Hawaiian Night crowd of 4,076 at Lancaster Municipal Stadium.

"We battled back tonight," JetHawks manager Rick Burleson said. "I think that says a lot about our club."

Vazquez's seventh-inning heroics helped Fuentes (6-6) pick up the victory on a night when he struck out 12 San Bernardino batters.

"Fuentes pitched a heck of a game," Burleson said. "Twelve punchouts."

Lancaster needed the good performances from both Fuentes and Vazquez to keep their lead in the Valley Division wild-card race. Modesto remained one game behind the JetHawks with 10 games to play after a 14-6 win over Visalia at Recreation Park.

It appeared that lead might slip away, however, as Lancaster entered the bottom of the seventh trailing 2-1. But Fernando Espino, who also has been coming up big for the JetHawks of late, snuck a one-out single through the left side of the Stampede defense and stole second base.

Vazquez followed with a blooper to left field. Bubba Crosby made a diving attempt to catch the ball, but had it slip under him and roll into the corner as Vazquez motored into third with a triple.

"With two strikes, I was just trying to put the ball in play," Vazquez said. "If he got it over the plate, I wanted to make sure I put it in play. I didn't hit it very hard."

Vazquez scored the winning run one batter later on Chris Dean's sacrifice fly to right field.

"That was a real big RBI for us, too," Burleson said.

Vazquez added an insurance run in the eighth when he doubled in Karl Thompson from third base.

It didn't look like a late rally would be needed as Fuentes dominated through the first five innings.

He struck out the side in both the first and third innings on a combined 25 pitches. By the end of the third, he had struck out seven of the 10 Stampede batters he had faced.

Fuentes added to that total with a strikeout in the fourth and two more in the fifth, bringing his total to 10. During that span, Fuentes allowed three hits and one walk, facing only two batters over the minimum.

Unfortunately, the Lancaster left-hander was given only a 1-0 lead during those five innings.

In the sixth, Fuentes actually had two strikeouts get away.

With two outs in the inning, the Stampede had runners on second and third. Fuentes worked Nick Leach to a 2-2 count, but Leach managed to foul off three twostrike pitches and eventually drew a walk to load the bases.

"I thought I made a couple of pretty close pitches to him with two strikes, but I didn't get the call," Fuentes said.

Fuentes again got within a strike of ending the inning, going 2-2 to designated hitter Casey Snow, but Snow sent the fifth pitch to the warning track in leftcenter field. The ball hopped over the wall, allowing Ken Morimoto and Rich Saitta to score for a 2-1 Stampede lead.

"I actually might have gotten a little lucky there," Fuentes said. "If it hadn't bounced over the wall, it might have cleared the bases."

Fuentes struck out Crosby, who was the Dodgers' first-round selection in the June draft, to end the threat and keep the JetHawks within one run.

Fuentes tied the JetHawks' season-high for strikeouts in a game, a mark he shares with Patrick Dunham. It was the third time he has reached that mark this season, taking over the team lead for strikeouts with 128.

Pete Janicki worked a scoreless eighth and ninth inning to pick up his second save of the season.