Mavericks' Kivlehan crushes two more

If you ask Patrick Kivlehan, he'll say he hasn't done anything differently the past couple games. If you look at his statistics, however, you'll see a completely different story.

For the second straight night, the Mariners' No. 18 prospect homered twice on Friday, powering Class A Advanced High Desert to a 9-0 thumping of Lancaster.

"Everyone's been following me around, trying to find out what I'm doing, [but] I'm just kind of doing the same thing," Kivlehan said. "I was just kind of getting pitches I was able to get my bat on."

The 24-year-old corner infielder led off the second inning by driving a pitch from JetHawks starter Mike Hauschild over the center-field wall. In the ninth, he hit a blast to right field that plated D.J. Peterson -- Seattle's second-ranked prospect -- and capped the scoring.

"The first home run, I got a fastball," Kivlehan said. "I was just looking for it up in the zone and I was able to hit it into center field. The second, I kind of got lucky and got under it and the wind took it."

The 6-foot-2 right-handed hitter leads all Minor Leaguers with seven homers and is tied for second in the California League with 16 RBIs.

Kivlehan got experience at the Class A Advanced level last season when he played 68 games with High Desert. He hit a composite .303/.366/.464 after beginning his sophomore campaign with Class A Clinton.

"Feeling more comfortable this year than I was last year," he said. "Just knowing the ballparks a lot better helps a lot."

Kivlehan is no stranger to success at the plate. In 2012, the Rutgers University product became the first player in Big East Conference to win the Triple Crown with a .402 average, 10 homers and 36 RBIs -- this coming after playing football for the Scarlet Knights for four years.

"They are two separate sports, so I don't think one helps the other," he said. "I just see myself as a baseball player now. Other people may say I'm a football player, but I'm not anymore."

Center fielder Travis Witherspoon also plated three runs for the Mavericks, while Peterson went 2-for-5 and Gabriel Guerrero -- Seattle's No. 10 prospect -- scored twice.

Scott DeCecco (1-0) got the win in his first start of the season after three relief appearances. He struck out five and yielded two hits over five scoreless innings.

DeCecco and two relievers kept Astros top prospect Carlos Correa off the bases. After three-straight multi-hit games, the 19-year-old shortstop is in an 0-for-8 funk.

Hauschild (1-1) took the hard-luck loss after allowing a run on four hits with five strikeouts in five innings.