'Hawks trio honored by Cal League

First baseman Cirilo Cruz Jr., second baseman Adonis Harrison and designated hitter Brendan Kingman all were named to the team.

Cruz, who set a JetHawks single-season record for hits Sunday with 165, entered Tuesday hitting .315 with seven home runs. He also entered the day leading the league with 100 RBI and 39 doubles.

Kingman leads the league with a .340 batting average. The versatile native of Australia also has 16 home runs and 77 RBI.

Harrison, who was a catalyst at the top of the Lancaster lineup in the first half, received a promotion to Class AA Orlando on June 26. Prior to that, he hit .337 with two homers, 35 RBI and 63 runs scored in 69 games.

All three represented the JetHawks in the 1998 Cal League All-Star Game.

High Desert right-hander Brad Penny was named the Cal League's Most Valuable Player and Pitcher of the Year, while his manager, Don Wakamatsu, earned Manager of the Year honors.

Getting hot

It was three weeks ago today.

The Modesto A's put the finishing touches on a three-game sweep of the Lancaster JetHawks and seemed to be doing the same to the JetHawks' playoff hopes.

Lancaster's one-game lead in the Valley Division wild-card race deteriorated into a two-game deficit. To make matters worse, the JetHawks were staring at a fourgame series at red-hot Rancho Cucamonga.

But just when things were looking grim, the JetHawks won three of four from the Quakes. When Modesto split in Bakersfield, that brought the JetHawks back to within a game.

That series win also seemed to ignite a fire under Lancaster, which had been struggling through most of the second half. Since the sweep against Modesto, the JetHawks have won 13 of 17 games entering Tuesday.

"This is the time of year you want to be playing well," JetHawks manager Rick Burleson said.

The JetHawks' run was highlighted by an outstanding performance during the their longest homestand of the year. Lancaster won eight of its 10 games on its final stay at The Hangar.

Help along the way

While the JetHawks have made a lot of improvements in many areas during the run, they've also received a lot of help along the way.

During the last 17 games, JetHawk opponents have committed 51 errors, including four or more in eight games.

By comparison, the JetHawks have been charged with 22 miscues and have had three or more only three times during the same stretch.

"You can't afford to open the door for your opponents," Burleson said. "We've done that a number of times this year. Every time you give your opponent four or more outs in an inning that's trouble. Four is a crooked number in baseball."

Lancaster has made the most of it's opponents mistakes, most recently against High Desert.

Four errors in the final two innings of Saturday's game helped Lancaster erase a 7-0 Mavericks lead entering the bottom of the eighth and emerge with an 8-7 victory.

On Sunday, the JetHawks took advantage of four more High Desert errors to pull away for a 13-6 win.

"They're not a team that's usually going to make many mistakes," Burleson said. "But our guys did a good job of taking advantage of it when they did."