Split decision for JetHawks

Pitching is highlight of twinbill

Only two nights earlier, the Lancaster JetHawks and High Desert Mavericks combined for 27 runs, 31 hits and eight errors in an ugly game at Maverick Stadium.

But in the first game of a doubleheader Thursday, the story was completely different. Lancaster scored the only run of the game in the top of the seventh inning to claim its second consecutive victory, 1-0. Brandon Parker and Justin Kaye combined on the JetHawks' third shutout victory of the season.

High Desert came back to claim a split with a 5-4 victory in the nightcap. The Mavericks wrapped up the win by turning a game-ending double play off the bat of Jermaine Clark.

Starter Jason Turman (0-2) had his second solid start for the JetHawks but ended up taking the loss.

"I'm very pleased with the job Turman did today," JetHawks manager Darrin Garner said. "Parker did an outstanding job too. It was a nice day for both of them."

Parker (2-0) showed great control and an ability to mix his speeds. He threw 94 pitches in his six scoreless innings of work - 63 for strikes. Six of his nine strikeout victims were caught looking.

"This year has matured me," Parker said. "I have matured a lot more in baseball. . . I've been concentrating more on location. I don't have a real fast fastball, so I focus on location instead."

Parker allowed four hits and one walk, but every time he got in trouble he seemed to come up with the big strikeout to end the threat.

The Mavericks had runners on second and third after a single by Wyley Steelmon and a double by Chris Van Rossum in the second inning, but Parker got Mark Osborne on a called third strike to end the frame.

One inning later, the Mavericks loaded the bases with one out, but once again Parker caught Jack Cust looking before inducing Abraham Nunez to swing at strike three.

"When guys get on base, I don't worry," Parker said. "If they do, they just did their job. I don't worry about runners on third or wherever."

By doing so Thursday, Parker kept his season ERA at a perfect 0.00 after 18 2/3 innings. He hasn't even allowed an unearned run so far this season.

The only other JetHawks pitcher with a flawless ERA, Justin Kaye, worked a perfect seventh to pick up his third save of the season.

High Desert starter Ben Norris did a good job of matching Parker. The JetHawks managed only three hits and two walks off him while striking out eight times before he left after 5 1/3 innings with runners on second and third and one out.

Although reliever Simon Sanchez worked out of that jam with the help of a botched squeeze attempt, he couldn't escape the seventh inning unscathed.

Luis Figueroa reached base on a one-out infield single, before Shawn McCorkle doubled him in with a shot to the left-field gap.

Turman (0-2) almost was as impressive as Parker in the second game, allowing six hits and two walks to go with five strikeouts.

Unfortunately, one of those hits was a wind-aided, two-run homer by Robby Hammock in the third inning. The Mavericks tagged a third run on in the fifth, but the JetHawks came back to make things interesting in the top of the sixth.

Gerald Eady scored on a throwing error and Craig Kuzmic, who broke out of an 0-for-26 slump with a single earlier in the inning, crossed the plate on a balk.

Ramon Valera, who represented the tying run, stood 90 feet away with only one out. But he was left there when the umpire said Mike Marchiano swung at strike three on a check swing, a call that brought an argument from Garner.

"Tyler (Hoffman) and I bumped heads a few times a few years ago in rookie league," Garner said. "I knew there was no talking to him about it. . . I said my peace as calmly as I could."

The call was important, because McCorkle followed with a flyout to center that would've been deep enough to score the runner.

The Mavericks added two unearned insurance runs in the bottom half of the inning after the JetHawks' lone fielding error of the afternoon, which was charged to McCorkle, allowed the inning to continue.

Both runs were needed, as Lancaster scored twice in the top of the seventh and had the potential winning run on base before Clark grounded to Cintron, who started the game-ending double play.

"Our team has been playing well on the road," Kuzmic said. "Now we have to keep that going and start playing well when we come home (today against Stockton)."