Peña homers early, pitching falters in loss

ADELANTO, Calif. - Roberto Peña tied the game in the second inning with an early home run but the JetHawks pitching couldn't hold the High Desert Mavericks offense in a 9-4 loss on Wednesday night at Heritage Field. 

Vince Velasquez (7-3) allowed runs in each of the three innings in which he pitched and couldn't escape the third. He allowed six runs on seven hits over 2 1/3 innings in his toughest start of the year. Velasquez struck out one and walked three while watching his ERA go up almost a full run, from 2.29 to 3.21.

The Mavericks (64-71) scored just one run in the first inning and Lancaster (77-58) came back with two in the second. Peña tied the game with his 12th home run of the season and Danry Vasquez followed with a hit. Vasquez would later score on a Jack Mayfield single to give the JetHawks their only lead.

High Desert answered with three runs in the bottom of the second and two in the bottom of the third to chase Velasquez and build a 6-2 lead. 

The Mavericks scored three in the fifth against reliever Patrick Christensen before Tyler Brunnemann and Gonzalo Sanudo shut down their scoring the rest of the way. 

Lancaster's second set of runs came in the sixth inning. Peña added another RBI with a double to score Tyler White and after a walk loaded the bases, Mayfield sent a fly ball to left field that scored Ronnie Mitchell. 

Brett Shankin (5-5) tossed three innings of relief for the win and Matt Anderson threw the final 3 1/3 for the save. 

The JetHawks send Brian Holmes and Evan Grills to the mound for the rubber game on Thursday at Heritage Field. Scott DeCecco gets the start for High Desert. First pitch is 7:05 p.m.

Don't miss a moment of exciting JetHawks action at The Hangar in 2014. Playoff tickets and other great ticket packages are on sale now. To order, call (661) 726-5400 or visit jethawks.com.