JETHAWKS NOTEBOOK: FIRST PLACE IN SIGHT DESPITE DEFEATS.Byline: Gideon Rubin Special to the Daily News VISALIA - The good news for the JetHawks is that they remain in a pennant race going into the last week of the first half of the Caifornia League season. The bad news is that Lancaster had the opportunity to climb into first place but lost four of five games of a Northern Division trip, twice in extra innings Noun 1. extra innings - overtime play until one team is ahead at the end of an inning; e.g. baseball extra time, overtime - playing time beyond regulation, to break a tie . The JetHawks (34-30) remain a game behind first-place Lake Elsinore (34-28) in the Southern Division. Manager Bill Plummer William Francis Plummer (born March 21, 1947 in Oakland, CA) was a catcher for the Chicago Cubs, Cincinnati Reds, and the Seattle Mariners. While never a regular player (he was Johnny Bench's backup catcher during the Big Red Machine years), he did play solid defense. said the way the JetHawks lost was especially frustrating. Untimely hitting and poor pitching figured prominently in a 10-inning, 6-5 loss Sunday at Visalia. Lancaster had 17 hits and five walks, and Visalia committed three errors, but the JetHawks stranded 14 baserunners, 10 in scoring position In the sport of baseball, a baserunner is said to be in scoring position when he is on second or third base. The distinction between being on first base and second or third base is that a runner on first can usually only score if the batter hits an extra base hit, while a runner on . In a 12-inning, 8-7 loss Saturday, the JetHawks stranded 10 runners, seven in scoring position. ``We just couldn't move over runners, and we couldn't execute,'' Plummer said. ``When you play that kind of baseball, usually you don't win.'' The JetHawks led 5-3 heading into the eighth inning Sunday, but Coltyn Simmons hit a two-run homer off Billy Biggs. Simmons doubled home the winning run in the 10th off Mike Watson Michael Goodall Watson, Baron Watson of Invergowrie, known as Mike Watson, (born 1 May, 1949) is a former Scottish Labour Party politician. He has sat in three legislatures in the United Kingdom and served as Minister for Tourism, Culture and Sport in the Scottish Executive (0-1). ``We can't expect to score 10 runs every game,'' Plummer said. ``If you can't hold a two-run lead into (the) eighth or ninth, you don't deserve to win.'' --Bruce to Missoula: Utility infielder A utility infielder is a baseball player, usually someone who does not have a regular starting role on the team, who is capable of playing more than one of the four defensive infield positions: second base, third base, shortstop, and less typically first base. Derek Bruce was 1 for 4 with a double and scored a run in his last game with the JetHawks. Bruce was assigned to the parent Arizona Diamondbacks' minicamp, which begins Wednesday in Missoula, Mont. Bruce batted .341 (30 for 88), highlighted by a remarkable stretch in which he hit safely in 10 consecutive at-bats, tying a California League The California League is a minor league baseball league which operates throughout the state of California. Before 2002, it was classified as a "High-A" league, indicating its status as a Class A league with the highest level of competition within that classification, and the fifth record. He also tied a league record with four doubles in one game. Plummer said Bruce will be assigned to short-season Yakima (Wash.) or rookie-level Missoula later this month. ``He did a great job for us,'' Plummer said. ``It was just a (situation) where he wasn't going to play for us very much. It doesn't matter where he goes, as long as he plays.'' --Sparkling Diamond: Top Texas Rangers Texas Rangers, mounted fighting force organized (1835) during the Texas Revolution. During the republic they became established as the guardians of the Texas frontier, particularly against Native Americans. prospect (according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. Baseball America  This article or section is written like an .Please help [ rewrite this article] from a neutral point of view. Mark blatant advertising for , using . ) Thomas Diamond will pitch for the Bakersfield Blaze in the opener a three-game series at 7 tonight at Lancaster. Diamond (6-0, 2.30 ERA) is coming off a dominant outing in a 5-0 victory Thursday over the JetHawks, in which he struck out 14 and allowed three hits and no walks in seven innings. On Wednesday, the JetHawks face another formidable pitcher, left- hander Ryan Wing - a top prospect who is on the Rangers' 40-man roster. Wing has struggled after missing 2004 with a shoulder injury, going 1-4 with a 7.30 ERA, and will look to get on track against a lefty-heavy JetHawks lineup that has had problems against left-handed pitching. --Also: Third baseman Edgar Varela was 2 for 6 Saturday, extending his hitting streak to 14 games. He didn't play Sunday. Varela is batting .479 (23 for 48) with three homers and 13 RBI RBI abbr. Baseball runs batted in Noun 1. rbi - a run that is the result of the batter's performance; "he had more than 100 rbi last season" run batted in during the streak, boosting his batting average from .250 to .305. ... If the JetHawks and Lake Elsinore tie for the first-half title, league rules stipulate that the first scheduled meeting in the second half would serve as a one-game playoff. The next time Lancaster plays the Storm is July 5 at Lake Elsinore. That game comes during a difficult stretch in a schedule, in which the JetHawks play at different stadiums on four consecutive dates. ... JetHawks home games move to summer start times beginning tonight, with games Monday through Saturday starting at 7 p.m. and Sunday games starting at 6 p.m. Gideon Rubin, (818) 713-3607 gideon.rubin(at)dailynews.com |
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