'Hawks working with trick mirrors

Lancaster pounded out 18 hits against four San Bernardino pitchers en route to a victory.

By BRIAN GOLDEN
Valley Press Staff Writer

You know, the ones where short becomes long, thin becomes fat and impossible becomes well, a matter of perspective.

If Lancaster can win its final 12 games and beat San Bernardino head to head five out of six times, and High Desert loses six of its last nine games. . .

Improbable?

No more so than what happened Tuesday night.

Lancaster strafed four San Bernardino pitchers for 18 hits and stampeded around the bases for a 15-5 laugher that entertained everyone in the Lancaster Municipal Stadium crowd of 2,416 but Dodgers general manager Kevin Malone.

The win gave Lancaster its fifth three-game winning streak of the season, and one more win (24) in the second half than the JetHawks amassed in the entire first half of the season.

It marked just the fourth time in 15 meetings this season that Lancaster has beaten its worst California League tormenters.

Harvey Hargrove had four hits and drove in four runs, Jason Regan increased his JetHawks career home-run record with his 15th of the season off the scoreboardbracketing space shuttles, Jermaine Clark drilled a pair of RBI doubles and Patrick Williams drove in a run and scored three others.

Here's the kind of night it was for Lancaster: When designated hitter Greg Connors fouled a ball off his foot and could not continue in the fifth inning, Shawn McCorkle took over the at-bat.

He then slammed his first home run in 57 games over the hitters' backdrop in center field.

Defensively, the JetHawks turned five double plays, so Neil Longo could laugh about giving up three home runs.

Two of them rocketed into the darkness on Avenue I off the bat of touted Dodgers prospect ChinFeng Chen, who increased his Cal League-leading RBI total to 116.

With his 27th and 28th home runs, the Taiwanese-born Chen moved within two homers of becoming the first 30-30 player (30 homers, 30 stolen bases) in Cal League history.

Longo settled for a memorable night of achievement, Making a spot start for Chris Mears because of a blister problem. Longo (6-7) worked eight innings to earn his first win vs. the Stampede after a loss and two no-decisions in three previous outings.

San Bernardino's Eric Riggs opened the game with a triple down the right field line and promptly scored on a base hit by Jimy Gonzalez.

Other than Robb Gorr's solo homer in the sixth, no other Stampeder did any damage against Longo.

Hargrove got Stampede starter Lance Carraccioli into immediate trouble by opening the first inning with a base hit, stealing second and taking third when catcher Will Crotty's throw sailed into center field.

Clark sliced a double up the alley in left to deliver Hargrove.

Uploaded August 25, 1999