JETHAWKS OVERSHADOWED : SEATTLE MARINERS ROUT LANCASTER BEFORE RECORD CROWD SEATTLE 14, JETHAWKS 4.

Byline: Dave Desmond Daily News Staff Writer

The Lancaster JetHawks captured the imagination and hearts of the Antelope Valley in 1996, their first season in existence.

They were greeted by an overflow crowd for their first appearance at Lancaster Municipal Stadium, and that was just for a workout. The lovefest continued through a summer that eventually saw 316,390 fans pass through the turnstiles.

The JetHawks' first home appearance of the '97 season was somewhat different Sunday.

Sure, they were greeted by a record crowd of 6,977, but many came to cheer on Lancaster's opponent, the major-league Seattle Mariners, the JetHawks' parent club.

The result was a 14-4 Mariners victory.

``We knew everybody came to see them,'' JetHawks catcher Dusty Wathan said. ``We'll have our moments this summer.''

For Lancaster, it was difficult to upstage an opponent that featured the cover boy of this week's Sports Illustrated (Randy Johnson), one of the game's biggest stars (Ken Griffey Jr.) and one of its quickest rising stars (Alex Rodriguez).

Fans camped out overnight last month just for the chance to buy a ticket to the exhibition game.

Many of those same fans waited for hours outside the stadium on game day, eagerly awaiting the opportunity to see Griffey and Co. put on a major-league caliber power display.

They weren't disappointed. Griffey, who later went 2 for 3 before leaving the game in the third inning, slugged several bombs to the roaring approval of the crowd.

Jay Buhner slugged a batting practice pitch over the 42-foot video scoreboard, an accomplishment never before done.

``All in all, I think the guys were a little nervous,'' first-year Lancaster manager Rick Burleson said. ``When you're facing Ken Griffey and Jay Buhner, you try to do things that maybe you're not capable of doing.''

In his last tuneup before facing the Boston Red Sox on Friday, Johnson struck out seven and broke four JetHawks bats during a four-inning, 85-pitch stint.

Shawn Buhner, Jay's younger brother, had two broken-bat RBI singles off Johnson. Wathan added two hits and an RBI.

Seattle second baseman Brent Gates, one of only two Mariners to play the entire game, led a 17-hit barrage off eight Lancaster pitchers with a 4-for-6 performance.

Third baseman Russ Davis hit a grand slam and center fielder Rob Ducey added a solo home run in a nine-run second inning.

The Mariners open the season Tuesday at the Kingdome with a game against the New York Yankees. The JetHawks open California League play Thursday at home against the High Desert Mavericks.