JetHawks miss chance for fourth straight victory

High Desert prevented Lancaster from claiming its first four-game winning streak this season

By DAVE RASBACH
Valley Press Staff Writer

It's the lack of success that has been so frustrating for the Lancaster JetHawks in 1999.

Through 116 games, the JetHawks' longest winning streak is a mere three games. They've accomplished that feat four times, but each time they've been unable to grab a fourth win in a row.

Tuesday's 7-6 loss to the High Desert Mavericks before 1,348 fans at Maverick Stadium was just the latest missed opportunity to start a bonafide winning streak.

The JetHawks, who mounted an eighth-inning comeback on the strength of a Harvey Hargrove grand slam, fell to a minor league worst 41-75 overall and 18-28 in the second half with the loss.

Lancaster, which has yet to sweep a series of more than one game this season, also had its last three-game winning streak ended by the Mavericks on July 11. Visalia did the honors to the JetHawks' first tear of the season on April 12, while Stockton kept Lancaster from wrapping a fourgame streak around the allstar break with a June 26 victory.

"It would have been nice to get that fourth and head into the day off (today) with our longest winning streak of the season," JetHawks manager Darrin Garner said. "But it didn't happen. We played hard the whole game, like we did in the three wins, it just didn't happen."

The JetHawks' hopes of grabbing No. 4 Tuesday ended almost before it began, as High Desert scored enough runs to literally short out the Maverick Stadium scoreboard.

Jack Cust made Lancaster starter Neil Longo pay for a twoout walk to Abraham Nunez when he ripped his 20th home run of the season over the left-center field fence to give the Mavericks a quick 2-0 lead.

That advantage swelled to 5-0 in the second with the help of a throwing error charged to third baseman Cirilo Cruz. The error allowed the leadoff man, Robby Hammock, to reach base.

Alex Cintron doubled him in with his shot into the right-center gap. Cintron scored on Belvani Martinez's bloop single just over shortstop Joel Ramirez's glove, before Nunez's RBI single up the middle plated Martinez.

Longo (4-7) settled down a little in the next two innings, but the right-hander was still charged with six runs, three of which were earned, on five hits and five walks. Longo did strike out five, but only 46 of his 83 pitches went for strikes in his 4 innings of work.

"We need to be strong in two out of three areas - pitching, defense and offense," Garner said. "Longo struggled a little bit there early, and we couldn't quite battle all the way back. We had a costly error there, too."

The JetHawks made things interesting late, though. Lancaster loaded the bases with three consecutive two-out singles by Cruz, Patrick Williams and Greg Connors. That brought up Hargrove, who belted a Miguel Rubio offering off the scoreboard for a grand slam.

The home run, Hargrove's second in two nights and ninth of the season, drew the JetHawks within one run, 7-6.

But Matt White worked a perfect ninth to pick up his second save of the season.

Lancaster got single runs in the third and fourth innings. In the third, Rafael Lopez's leadoff ground-rule double was rewarded by Jermaine Clark's two-out triple.

In the fourth, Patrick Williams poked a leadoff home run over the right-field wall for his team-leading 15th homer of the season. Williams has a three-game homer streak going and has hit four in the last six games.

Uploaded August 11, 1999