JetHawks finally fly to fourth straight victory

By BRETT PAPE
Valley Press Staff Writer

With a 9-3 victory over the San Bernardino Stampede on Wednesday night, the JetHawks finally managed to win more than three straight. Prior to this surge, Lancaster had posted three-game winning streaks four times this season.

A crowd of 3,424 at The Hangar watched the JetHawks improve to 25-35 in the second half and 48-82 overall.

"I definitely knew about the streak," Lancaster manager Darrin Garner said. "As soon as I saw the last ball caught, I said `Yes, we finally got a four-game winning streak' I'm really happy about it."

Lancaster has just four games remaining at home. The JetHawks will play San Bernardino tonight, then finish the home season with a three-game series against Visalia over the weekend.

Trailing 1-0 heading in the bottom of the second inning, Lancaster scored four runs on three hits, three walks and one hit batter.

Alex Fernandez led off the inning with a single and later moved to second with a stolen base. His 21 stolen bases are second on the team behind Jermaine Clark's 29.

After a Rafael Lopez pop-out and a Matt Sachse walk, No. 9 hitter Joel Ramirez singled to right to score Fernandez from second. Sachse moved to second on the Ramirez single.

Sachse was then thrown out at third trying to steal by Stampede catcher John Hernandez.

Marcos Castillo, who threw the league's only perfect game of the season earlier in the year against Lake Elsinore, walked both Clark and Harvey Hargrove to load the bases. Castillo then hit the next batter, Patrick Williams, to score Ramirez and give the JetHawks a 2-1 lead.

Shawn McCorkle followed by singling in both Clark and Hargrove, extending Lancaster's lead to 4-1. Castillo finally got out of the inning when McCorkle was forced out at second on a Jason Regan grounder to short.

The second wouldn't be the last big inning for Lancaster.

Castillo allowed one run over then next three innings before being pulled after walking two of the first three batters in the bottom of the sixth.

After reliever Scott Bell got Hargrove to fly out for the inning's second out, Williams was hit by a pitch for the second time to load the bases. Just like he did in the second, McCorkle came through in the clutch, doubling to left to clear the bases and give Lancaster an 8-3 lead.

McCorkle then scored on Regan's single past a diving Eric Riggs at short.

One batter later, the Stampede finally got out of the inning when Lopez flied out to center.

JetHawks starting pitcher Brandon Parker was impressive, giving up just three runs in six innings of work. Parker (9-6) gave up five hits while striking out eight.

"I felt really good out there," Parker said. "It was really nice to get the lead and have the type of relief that I had."

San Bernardino scored more than one running in an inning just once against Parker, pushing two across in the fourth. Parker gave up three of his five hits in that inning.

Allan Simpson pitched two hitless innings of relief and Juan Ramos pitched a perfect ninth to close out the game for Lancaster.

Uploaded August 26, 1999