Fitzgerald recipient of tough luck

Stockton scored four runs in the seventh inning as Lancaster fell four games under .500 for the first time this season.

But if ever there was one, it would be Brian Fitzgerald.

Fitzgerald hasn't had the benefit of much help from his offense or defense recently, and even the official scorekeeper in Stockton seemed to be against him Friday night.

Despite pitching relatively well at times, the left-hander dropped his third consecutive decision as the Lancaster JetHawks fell 9-3 to the Ports on a breezy night at Billy Hebert Field.

"Things just aren't clicking for us right now," JetHawks manager Darrin Garner said. "When we get good pitching, our hitting fails us. When we get good offense, our pitching struggles. We'll put it all together one of these days."

Stockton scored four runs in the seventh to end a Lancaster rally and put the game away. With the loss, Lancaster (9-13) fell four games under .500 for the first time this season.

Fitzgerald's record dropped to 1-3. In his three losses, the JetHawks have scored just less than four runs per game in support of him. More importantly, they have been charged with an average of three errors per game behind him.

"We have a good pitching staff," said Lancaster first baseman Shawn McCorkle, who went 4-for-4. "You feel bad when we don't come away with a win for them."

Lancaster officially was charged with only two miscues Friday, but two other questionable hits played a big role in the game.

"We definitely had a few more errors," Garner said.

Fitzgerald was charged with 11 hits, one walk and seven earned runs in his 6 1/3 innings of work.

But the biggest hit of the night may not have been a hit at all.

After Fitzgerald allowed a oneout walk to Greg Schaub and a single to Jeff Deardorff in the second inning, Jose Colon bounced a shot to the left side of the Lancaster infield.

Third baseman Luis Figueroa, who was charged with a first-inning error, appeared ready to make an easy backhanded play on the ball and possibly start an inning-ending double play. But the ball skipped right under his glove.

Officially, Colon was credited with a double and two RBI on the play, but it easily could have been ruled a two-base error.

"That was a routine play that he just let up on a little," Garner said. "It happens. He'll learn from that."

Colon also scored in the frame on Brian Moon's RBI double as the Ports erased a one-run Lancaster lead, which was built on Figueroa's solo home run in the top half of the inning.

The second error that wasn't an error may have been even more costly for the JetHawks.

Lancaster had just battled back with an impressive rally to score two runs in the top of the seventh and cut the Stockton lead to 4-3. Colon and Figueroa were again the primary players in the questionable, but pivotal play.

Colon led off the bottom half of the inning with a shot right at Figueroa. The ball took a funny bounce and went between the Lancaster third baseman's legs. Once again, Colon, who went 2-for-3 with two RBI, was given a charitable hit.

Although Colon was thrown out on a groundout by Moon, that hit seemed to swing the momentum back in the Ports' favor. Stockton rallied for four runs on four hits in the frame to take an 8-3 lead and squash any hopes of a JetHawks comeback.

"We battled back real good, but then we gave it right back to them," Garner said.

Stockton starter Roberto Paredes (1-1), whose spot in the rotation was pushed back because of a blister on his pitching hand, did a good job of keeping the JetHawks in check to pick up the victory. With the exception of Figueroa's home run, which was his third of the season, Paredes managed to scatter the four other hits he allowed and keep Lancaster off the scoreboard.