JetHawks Fall Short Against Mavericks
LANCASTER — The JetHawks lost by a run and five feet Tuesday night at the Hangar, 5-4, to the High Desert Mavericks in a California League game before 3,923.
Chris Dean’s fly ball with two out and a runner on third in the bottom of the ninth was caught against the top of the right-field fence by Maverick Jamie Gann.
With the loss, the JetHawks squandered a chance to pick up ground on Stockton, which leads the league’s Valley Division and Lancaster by 4 1/2 games. The Ports lost, 8-3, to Modesto on Tuesday. Lancaster has five games remaining in the season’s first half.
High Desert (35-30) which trailed, 3-0, after four innings, hit a pair of solo home runs in both the fifth and sixth before JetHawk reliever Rafael Rivera walked in the eventual winning run with two outs in the seventh.
Lancaster (32-33) opened the scoring in the second, taking a 1-0 lead when James Clifford led off with a double, moved to third on a fielder’s choice and scored on a wild pitch.
The JetHawks increased their lead to 3-0 in the third. Luis Molina hit a one-out single and Chris Dean walked. Carlos Villalobos doubled to the right-field wall, driving in Molina and sending Dean to third, from where he scored on a sacrifice fly by Miguel Correa.
High Desert struck back for two runs in the fifth on solo home runs by Garry Maddox and Mike Stoner. Stoner’s shot, his 15th of the season, cleared the 40-foot scoreboard behind the left-center field wall.
Shawn Buhner staked Lancaster to a 4-2 lead in the fifth, dropping a soft fly ball behind first base and scoring Dean, who had doubled to lead off the inning.
Jason Bond (0-4) started the sixth and gave up consecutive home runs to Todd Steverson and Mark Osborne on three pitches, tying the game at 4-4 before retiring the side.
In the seventh, Bond surrendered a single and two walks to load the bases before giving way to Rivera.
JetHawk starter Chris Beck allowed four hits and two runs--both earned--in five innings.
* DAILY REPORT: Eric Morgan put on disabled list. C8
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