JetHawks clinch playoff spot with dismantling of Storm
Aug. 28, 2015
By ALONSO TACANGA/Valley Press
LANCASTER — As the ninth Lancaster run of the night scored in the third inning on Friday, the fans could almost smell their free tacos.
And as the JetHawks pounded away at Lake Elsinore, the scent of postseason play was even stronger.
“We kind of felt it even before the game started. We all felt good,” JetHawks third baseman J.D. Davis said.
Needing either a win or an Inland Empire loss to reach the postseason for a franchise-record fourth straight time, the defending California League champion JetHawks took matters into their own hands and crushed a lackadaisical Storm 16-4 to clinch their playoff ticket.
With Davis and Chase McDonald homering, Alex Bregman going 4-for-6 and every one of the JetHawks (33-28, 70-61) getting at least one hit, the final smell of a 19-hit night was that of champagne as the Lancaster players erupted in celebration shortly after the game in a locker room thoroughly protected with plastic sheets.
“It’s huge. We wanted to do it on our own terms,” said Davis, who went 2-for-6 and score two runs. “We didn’t want to kind of sneak in. We wanted to earn it and we wanted to get a win tonight.”
On a night in which they celebrated the 30th anniversary of the classic science-fiction film “Back to the Future,” the JetHawks made things very heavy for the Storm — who just plain stunk up the park — with a five-run second inning, a four-run third, a three-run fifth and a four-run eighth.
“I’m very proud of them,” JetHawks manager Omar Lopez said. “They figured out they have a chance to go to the playoffs. I think the coaching staff, plus myself, and the medical staff helps create that environment to make those guys fight for that spot.”
Trailing 2-0 going into the bottom of the second, Davis led off the inning with his 23rd homer of the year to right field before Ronnie Mitchell tripled and came in to score on a wild pitch by Storm starter Matt Shepherd.
McDonald was walked and moved to second on a Mott Hyde sacrifice bunt before Jamie Ritchie hit another triple off Shepherd, this one a run-scoring one. Sean McMullen was then hit by a pitch and Shepherd balked, bringing in Ritchie from third.
After James Ramsay flied out, Bregman extended his hitting streak to 14 games with yet another RBI triple off Shepherd and the JetHawks led 5-2.
“We started hitting in all cylinders. We started hitting extra base hits … it was contagious,” Davis said.
In the third, helped by some ineptitude from Lake Elsinore, which totaled three errors for the game, the onslaught continued for the JetHawks.
Davis led off with a grounder to shortstop Felipe Blanco, who threw the ball wide of first to allow the third baseman to reach second base. Mitchell then singled and McDonald hit a sac fly to add a run.
Mitchell went to second on a wild pitch before Hyde struck out. Jamie Ritchie then reached and went to second on another throwing error by Blanco, allowing Mitchell to score.
A McMullen double scored Ritchie and knocked Shepherd out of the game.
“Their record doesn’t show how much talent they got on their team,” Davis said of the Storm, who dropped to 47-84 overall.
Reliever Blake Rogers would give up an RBI single to Ramsay and a base hit to Bregman before finally getting the third out on a Derek Fisher grounder to first, and the JetHawks led 9-2.
The JetHawks sent nine batters to the plate in each the second and third innings.
Only through a third of the game, the rest of the night seemed a mere formality, particularly against the blundering Storm.
But Lake Elsinore wasn’t done making mistakes. After a walk to Hyde and a hit-by-pitch to Ritchie to lead off the fifth, McMullen hit a grounder to first baseman Matthew Chavez, who thought about getting Ritchie at second before deciding to go to first and throwing the ball away, out of the reach of Rogers.
Hyde scored on the error — the all-important 10th run that gave fans free tacos — Ritchie ended up at third and McMullen, who was credited with an infield single, at second.
Rogers recorded consecutive pop-outs before getting relieved in favor of Rafael De Paula. The fresh reliever then surrendered the fourth triple of the night, a two-RBI one to Fisher.
That made it 12-3 JetHawks. McDonald’s team-leading 28th homer of the season to lead off the eighth, a two-run double by Ramsay and a Fisher RBI groundout closed the scoring books on the playoff-clinching victory.
After giving up two runs in the top of the second, including a leadoff homer to Nick Torres, JetHawks starter Christian Powell settled down. He gave up six hits, two walks and three runs and struck out six in 5.2 innings.
Michael Freeman relieved him and lowered his outstanding ERA to 0.59 by pitching 2.1 perfect innings with three strikeouts.
For Lake Elsinore, Shepherd gave up six hits, two walks and nine runs (five earned) in 2.2. innings and Rogers yielded three runs on three hits and a walk in two innings.
With nine games left in the season, the JetHawks now turn their attention to the High Desert Mavericks, whom they trail by three games in the standings. The Mavs come into town for a regular season-ending four-game series starting next Friday.
"Now it’s time to finish strong the last nine games to see if we can win the second half," Lopez said.
By ALONSO TACANGA/Valley Press
LANCASTER — As the ninth Lancaster run of the night scored in the third inning on Friday, the fans could almost smell their free tacos.
And as the JetHawks pounded away at Lake Elsinore, the scent of postseason play was even stronger.
“We kind of felt it even before the game started. We all felt good,” JetHawks third baseman J.D. Davis said.
Needing either a win or an Inland Empire loss to reach the postseason for a franchise-record fourth straight time, the defending California League champion JetHawks took matters into their own hands and crushed a lackadaisical Storm 16-4 to clinch their playoff ticket.
With Davis and Chase McDonald homering, Alex Bregman going 4-for-6 and every one of the JetHawks (33-28, 70-61) getting at least one hit, the final smell of a 19-hit night was that of champagne as the Lancaster players erupted in celebration shortly after the game in a locker room thoroughly protected with plastic sheets.
“It’s huge. We wanted to do it on our own terms,” said Davis, who went 2-for-6 and score two runs. “We didn’t want to kind of sneak in. We wanted to earn it and we wanted to get a win tonight.”
On a night in which they celebrated the 30th anniversary of the classic science-fiction film “Back to the Future,” the JetHawks made things very heavy for the Storm — who just plain stunk up the park — with a five-run second inning, a four-run third, a three-run fifth and a four-run eighth.
“I’m very proud of them,” JetHawks manager Omar Lopez said. “They figured out they have a chance to go to the playoffs. I think the coaching staff, plus myself, and the medical staff helps create that environment to make those guys fight for that spot.”
Trailing 2-0 going into the bottom of the second, Davis led off the inning with his 23rd homer of the year to right field before Ronnie Mitchell tripled and came in to score on a wild pitch by Storm starter Matt Shepherd.
McDonald was walked and moved to second on a Mott Hyde sacrifice bunt before Jamie Ritchie hit another triple off Shepherd, this one a run-scoring one. Sean McMullen was then hit by a pitch and Shepherd balked, bringing in Ritchie from third.
After James Ramsay flied out, Bregman extended his hitting streak to 14 games with yet another RBI triple off Shepherd and the JetHawks led 5-2.
“We started hitting in all cylinders. We started hitting extra base hits … it was contagious,” Davis said.
In the third, helped by some ineptitude from Lake Elsinore, which totaled three errors for the game, the onslaught continued for the JetHawks.
Davis led off with a grounder to shortstop Felipe Blanco, who threw the ball wide of first to allow the third baseman to reach second base. Mitchell then singled and McDonald hit a sac fly to add a run.
Mitchell went to second on a wild pitch before Hyde struck out. Jamie Ritchie then reached and went to second on another throwing error by Blanco, allowing Mitchell to score.
A McMullen double scored Ritchie and knocked Shepherd out of the game.
“Their record doesn’t show how much talent they got on their team,” Davis said of the Storm, who dropped to 47-84 overall.
Reliever Blake Rogers would give up an RBI single to Ramsay and a base hit to Bregman before finally getting the third out on a Derek Fisher grounder to first, and the JetHawks led 9-2.
The JetHawks sent nine batters to the plate in each the second and third innings.
Only through a third of the game, the rest of the night seemed a mere formality, particularly against the blundering Storm.
But Lake Elsinore wasn’t done making mistakes. After a walk to Hyde and a hit-by-pitch to Ritchie to lead off the fifth, McMullen hit a grounder to first baseman Matthew Chavez, who thought about getting Ritchie at second before deciding to go to first and throwing the ball away, out of the reach of Rogers.
Hyde scored on the error — the all-important 10th run that gave fans free tacos — Ritchie ended up at third and McMullen, who was credited with an infield single, at second.
Rogers recorded consecutive pop-outs before getting relieved in favor of Rafael De Paula. The fresh reliever then surrendered the fourth triple of the night, a two-RBI one to Fisher.
That made it 12-3 JetHawks. McDonald’s team-leading 28th homer of the season to lead off the eighth, a two-run double by Ramsay and a Fisher RBI groundout closed the scoring books on the playoff-clinching victory.
After giving up two runs in the top of the second, including a leadoff homer to Nick Torres, JetHawks starter Christian Powell settled down. He gave up six hits, two walks and three runs and struck out six in 5.2 innings.
Michael Freeman relieved him and lowered his outstanding ERA to 0.59 by pitching 2.1 perfect innings with three strikeouts.
For Lake Elsinore, Shepherd gave up six hits, two walks and nine runs (five earned) in 2.2. innings and Rogers yielded three runs on three hits and a walk in two innings.
With nine games left in the season, the JetHawks now turn their attention to the High Desert Mavericks, whom they trail by three games in the standings. The Mavs come into town for a regular season-ending four-game series starting next Friday.
"Now it’s time to finish strong the last nine games to see if we can win the second half," Lopez said.