JetHawks earn straight A's with rout of Modesto

By DAVE RASBACH
Valley Press Staff Writer

It took the Lancaster JetHawks offense two days.

But with Sunday's 14-3 victory over the Modesto A's, both Farnsworth and the JetHawks earned a measure of vindication at their personal House of Horrors.

The 11-run winning margin was the largest of the season for the JetHawks (19-32), who matched a season high for runs scored and set a new high for hits (16) in a game.

"I think the kids got a lot of confidence from this game," JetHawks manager Darrin Garner said. "This was a great win for us."

The win brought an end to both the JetHawks' two-game losing skid and the A's nine-game win streak. The teams begin their second three-game series at Lancaster Municipal Stadium on Tuesday.

Though Farnsworth came up two outs short of factoring into Sunday's decision, he had to be encouraged by his performance.

"Sure I would have liked the win, but the most important thing is I helped the team get the win," Farnsworth said.

The fact that it came on the same mound where he felt a pop in his right elbow in a May 12, 1997, start against the A's made it that much sweeter for the 23-year-old. That pop and the resulting reconstructive elbow surgery brought an end to the rest of his 1997 season and forced him to miss all of 1998.

"It was in the back of my mind," Farnsworth said. "But everybody has got to beat down their own demons. Sometimes you have to battle yourself as well as the other team."

With the start Sunday, Farnsworth returned to the Lancaster starting rotation after suffering from unrelated back spasms that landed him on the disabled list May 3.

Farnsworth made the most of the opportunity, shutting out the A's through the first four innings, before four fifth-inning hits by Modesto resulted in two runs and the end of his night. He allowed six hits and three walks while striking out four in 4 1/3 innings of work and left with Lancaster leading 8-2.

About the only thing that didn't go Farnsworth's way was his pitch count, which reached 90 before he could go long enough to pick up his second victory of the year.

That forced the JetHawks to turn to Brian Carmody (3-2), who's turn in the starting rotation was skipped with today's off day.

Carmody was the beneficiary of a revitalized Lancaster offense, that managed only three runs and 14 hits in the first two games of the series. With that lack of offense, the JetHawks lost by a combined score of 18-3.

Sunday, it took the JetHawks less than two innings to better their run total from the first two games, as Harvey Hargrove's three-run home run to left-center field made the score 4-0.

"I think it was important for us to come out and get off to a good start," Hargrove said. "We got the one run in the first inning and three more in the second. That did so much for our confidence."

It took until the eighth inning for Lancaster to better its hit total from the first two games. Hargrove once again did the honors, as his bloop two-run double gave the JetHawks 15 hits in the game and a 14-2 lead.

"It was good to see us hit like that," Lancaster hitting coach Dana Williams said. "I enjoyed sitting back and watching it. Everybody played their part."

All nine Lancaster starters had at least one hit and one run scored in the game, and six players had at least one RBI.

Matt Sachse, who had a solo home run in the seventh inning, Hargrove, Jermaine Clark, Alex Fernandez and Rick Magdeleno all had two hits, while catcher Rafael Lopez went 3-for-6 with four runs scored and an RBI.

Hargrove paced Lancaster with five RBI, while Sachse had three.