JETHAWKS NOTEBOOK: ALL THE NUMBERS INDICATE THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE HOME.

Byline: GIDEON RUBIN Special to the Daily News

LANCASTER -- Heading into Thursday's game against High Desert, the JetHawks were 3-0 to start a season-long 11-game homestand they wish would never end.

Lancaster, which snapped a seven-game game-losing streak with a 12-8 victory over High Desert in Monday's series opener, has lost 10 consecutive road games, a streak that goes back to June 24.

The JetHawks (43-52, 11-14 in the second half) are a robust 27-18 at home, but a pitiful 16-34 on the road.

They are batting a staggering 73 points higher at Clear Channel Stadium (.336, compared to .263 on the road) and have hit 73 of their 104 homers at Lancaster despite playing five fewer games there.

Lancaster's hitter-friendly conditions are surely a major factor in the offensive statistical disparity, but this season's gap is especially pronounced.

Last season, Lancaster batted .323 at home, compared with .281 on the road, a 42-point differential.

The JetHawks' team ERA is 5.92 at home compared with 5.41 on the road, a smaller differential than would be expected considering Lancaster's high winds and thin air. Last season, the JetHawks' team ERA was 5.71 at home, compared to 4.71 on the road.

Lancaster has played better defensively at Lancaster too, committing just 55 errors compared with 71 on the road.

JetHawks manager Brett Butler said he can't explain the disparity, but he suspects the team has gained a certain comfort level playing at home it hasn't developed away from Lancaster.

``That's my guess, but I really don't know,'' he said. ``Why do certain teams match up better against other teams? I don't know, but that's what makes the game beautiful.''

Some in the parent Arizona Diamondbacks organization have complained about the JetHawks' grueling commuter schedule in recent years. The JetHawks have more long commutes than any California League team because Lancaster is situated in the north of the Southern Division, while three of the five teams are in the Inland Empire.

The commute has been lengthened by at least 30 minutes because of the Highway 138 closure, meaning the JetHawks have to travel through Victorville to get to San Bernardino, Inland Empire and Rancho Cucamonga.

Add at least another hour to that commute on Friday nights, when the team bus drives home into the teeth of Las Vegas-bound traffic on the 15 Freeway. The 138 is expected to remain closed for the remainder of the season.

Butler dismissed the notion that the long bus rides have adversely affected his team's play on the road.

The numbers support his assertion. Lancaster is 0-7 on the road against High Desert, a relatively easy commute of less than an hour.

``The other guys have to do it too,'' Butler said. ``The bottom line is execution, and we just haven't played very well on the road.''

Confidence builder: JetHawks outfielder Jon Zeringue, who was assigned to Lancaster last week after struggling at Double-A Tennessee, is making progress working under the tutelage of hitting coach Damon Mashore, Butler said.

Zeringue is batting .217 (5 for 23) in seven games since joining the team, but has hit safely in six of those games including each of his last four.

In Tuesday's 4-3 victory over High Desert, Zeringue hit a solo homer in the bottom of the seventh - his first - that broke a 3-3 tie.

Zeringue, a second-round draft pick out of LSU in 2004, was considered a prized prospect that year after batting .335 with 10 homers and 41 RBIs in 56 games in Lancaster in his professional debut.

``He's getting his confidence back,'' Butler said. ``He's been working on some things with Mashe, so hopefully he can get back on track.''

gideon.rubin(at)dailynews.com

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