Blundering 'Hawks lose sixth straight

By DAVE RASBACH
Valley Press Staff Writer

That's how bad the Lancaster JetHawks' current nine-game road trip has gotten.

The bad news is there are still three games to play before they return to the friendlier confines of Lancaster Municipal Stadium.

The Modesto A's put the finishing touches on the second consecutive series sweep of Lancaster with Sunday's 9-7 victory over the mistake-prone JetHawks before 1,068 fans at John Thurman Field.

The loss marked the sixth defeat in as many tries on a road swing that started in Rancho Cucamonga and will conclude with a three-game series in Bakersfield. With the exception of a seven-run loss to the Quakes on Thursday, the losing margins on the trip have all been by either one or two runs.

"This is very frustrating," Lancaster second baseman Jermaine Clark said. "Especially when you make elementary mistakes like we made running the bases and at the plate today."

That frustration may have come to a boil Saturday night, when the team bus was more than an hour late after a tough 3-1 loss to the A's. Battery trouble forced players to wait in uniform in the Thurman Field parking lot for a ride back to the team hotel.

"These are hot days - the Dog Days as they call them," Clark said. "And the frustration is starting to set in. We can't afford to have the bus break down, just like we can't afford to make the mistakes we made today out on the field."

The JetHawks were charged with only two errors Sunday, but numerous other pitching and baserunning blunders played their part in Lancaster dipping to 11-20 in the second half. The JetHawks also fell a minor league-worst and franchise-low 33 games under .500 overall (34-67).

"I was looking for us to finish around .500 on this road trip when we left," JetHawks manager Darrin Garner said. "But things haven't come together. We've made too many mistakes in too many areas to win games. We have to play perfect baseball, and we aren't doing that."

Although Lancaster made many mistakes Sunday, the biggest miscue came in the bottom of the seventh inning, when Harvey Hargrove had a fly ball off the bat of Ryan Ludwick bounce off his glove.

Lancaster had just pulled within one run, 7-6, with two runs in the top of the inning, but the twobase error allowed Jacques Landry to score from second base with what proved to be the winning run. Ludwick also scored an unearned insurance run in the frame on Miguel Olivo's double, which was one of seven extra-base hits by the A's.

The JetHawks also did their share of damage at the plate, rocking five Modesto pitchers for 13 hits in the game, including six doubles. That offensive outpouring came one night after they were held to one unearned run on five hits.

Lancaster matched that hit total before the first out of the second inning was recorded Sunday.

Unfortunately for the JetHawks, Modesto's offense was also in high gear, as the A's jumped out to a 4-1 first-inning lead against Neil Longo (4-5).

The big hit of the inning was Ludwick's two-run homer, which he crushed well over the wall in left field.

Longo allowed six earned runs on nine hits and a walk, but struck out seven in his five innings of work.

"It goes back and fourth," Garner said. "We can't seem to put everything together. Last night we couldn't hit the ball and tonight it was our pitching and defense that let us down."

Uploaded July 26, 1999