ROAD-WEARY JETHAWKS GLAD TO BE HOME.

Byline: Gideon Rubin Staff Writer

BAKERSFIELD - The only good thing that happened to the JetHawks on their recent six-game trip was that it ended.

After putting together a remarkable run - in which they won 22 of 25 - the high-flying JetHawks, who hadn't been swept in a three-game series all season, had it happen twice, losing to Modesto and Bakersfield.

``There's tomorrow,'' said JetHawks utility man Craig Kuzmic, who described the trip as a ``debacle.''

``It's been a tough trip, but we've got a long homestand and it'll be good to get back home,'' JetHawks third baseman Bo Robinson said. ``We'll rebound, I guarantee we will. This team is too good to keep losing.''

The JetHawks - winners of 19 of their last 20 games at Lancaster Municipal Stadium - opened an 11-game homestand Wednesday night with a 9-6 victory over divisional archrival San Bernardino. After this homestand, though, the JetHawks will play just three games at Lancaster in the final three weeks of the regular season.

They host the first two games in the second round of the California League playoffs Sept. 8-9.

In the first three games of the trip at Modesto, the JetHawks, who had previously been shut out once this season, were blanked twice and were limited to just 12 hits and two runs in the series.

And although the JetHawks bats came alive in the Bakersfield series, in which they combined to score 24 runs on 41 hits, they fell behind in the late innings of each game, and ninth-inning surges on each occasion were never enough.

On Sunday night, Lancaster trailed 6-2 entering the top of the ninth, when Juan Silvestre had a two-out RBI single and Kuzmic followed with a two-run homer to make it 6-5. But then after a Robinson single, Bakersfield reliever Jason Bullard struck out Peanut Williams, who represented the winning run, to end the game.

Then Monday night, trailing 12-9, the JetHawks rallied for two runs and had the bases loaded with one out, when Williams hit a fly ball to right field that went for a game-ending double play as Brett Casper threw Silvestre out at the plate with what would have been the tying run.

And Tuesday night, the JetHawks faced an 11-6 deficit when successive singles by Williams, Scott Maynard and Wilfredo Quintana loaded the bases with no outs. The JetHawks scored two runs in the inning on a pair of RBI grounders, and a walk to Terrmel Sledge brought Silvestre to the plate representing the tying run, but Bakersfield reliever Manuel Bermudez was able to induce the league's RBI leader to hit into a game-ending infield grounder.

Not only were the losses at Bakersfield tough, so were the conditions. The weather was hot and considerably more humid than in the Antelope Valley, and the air conditioning didn't work for a night at their hotel.

Because of the configuration of Sam Lynn Ballpark, in which the sun shines into the visitors' dugout at dusk, all night games start late, at 7:45 p.m. The first two games of the series lasted nearly 3 1/2 hours, and the final game was nearly three hours long.

The JetHawks commuted back to Lancaster after the last two games of the series. Monday night, they didn't get back to the Antelope Valley until 2 a.m.

``It seemed like everything that could go wrong did go wrong,'' Robinson said.

``It's hot and it's muggy, but it's hotter and muggier in a lot of other places,'' JetHawks manager Mark Parent said. ``We would much rather play at home, and hopefully that will get us refocused, but you have to win wherever you play.

``It's difficult to go through a losing streak. Dealing with that is tough, but you turn the page and you go on. You can't get too high or too low in this game.''

Parent was ejected in the bottom of the seventh of Tuesday night's game for arguing a close play at first by umpire Chris Hamburg.

--Injury ends P.J. Williams' season: JetHawks outfielder P.J. Williams felt pain in his right shoulder two weeks ago while the JetHawks were on a Northern California trip to Stockton and San Jose, but he wasn't sure what caused the injury.

Williams' shoulder apparently hasn't responded to rehabilitation and he will miss the remainder of the season.

Harvey Hargrove is expected to assume the job as the JetHawks starting center fielder.

CAPTION(S):

2 photos

Photo:

(1) HARGROVE

(2) KUZMIC