Watts Finds Home in Lancaster

Josh Watts spent his first month as a JetHawk with no place to live, sleeping in hotels, his car and even the clubhouse. But he didn’t mind, because he wasn’t in Bakersfield.

“I’d rather not have a place to live and be [in Lancaster] than have a place in Bakersfield,” said Watts, who was on loan to the co-op Bakersfield Blaze before the Mariners shifted him to the JetHawks in July.

Today, Watts not only has a place to sleep--one of his teammates’ couches, actually--he’s starting to hit.

Watts has hit in seven consecutive games, with 10 hits in 27 at-bats. He batted .313 at Bakersfield, but went into a two-for-25 slump when he came to the joining the JetHawks.

“I’ve felt real comfortable lately,” said Watts.

Watts is an outfielder with a new outlook.

He was picked by the Philadelphia Phillies in the third round of the 1993 draft. After three seasons, he was released.

“The Phillies told me, ‘We know you can play in the major leagues, but you’ve just got to find a love for the game,’ ” Watts said.

And has he found it?

“Yeah. I want to play baseball now. Before I was just playing baseball because I was drafted and they gave me a lot of money.”

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Although Maverick Stadium in Adelanto is considered the best home run park in the league, that doesn’t seem to bother JetHawk right-hander Greg Wooten.

Probably because it’s hard to hit a home run with a ground ball.

Wooten had his second outstanding performance in Maverick Stadium on Thursday night. In two starts, the sinkerball pitcher has allowed two earned runs in 16 1/3 innings.

“It helps being a ground ball pitcher,” Wooten said. “Plus I got lucky with some key double plays to get out of jams.”

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Tonight’s Game:

San Bernardino (Dan Camacho, 4-3, 5.82) at JetHawks (Trey Moore, 5-5, 4.20), 7:15 p.m.