High Desert puts up a 13-run inning

For any baseball fan, a grand slam means four runs. For the High Desert Mavericks on Wednesday, it meant 13.

Gabriel Noriega belted a two-out, bases-loaded home run in the second inning against Lancaster -- his first longball of the year -- to cap a 13-run inning that led the Class A Advanced Mavericks to a 14-9 win over the Lancaster JetHawks.

High Desert recorded seven hits in the inning, six of which went for extra bases, as the team sent 16 batters to the plate. Five players reached base safely twice in the inning, including Mario Lopez, who ripped two doubles against two different pitchers.

The Mavericks also benefited from sloppy play by the JetHawks, who issued four walks in the inning and hit a batter. Lancaster also suffered a throwing error by starting pitcher Joe Cisnero, as well as two wild pitches and a passed ball.

Every High Desert player reached base in the game, with five enjoying two-hit days. Noriega led the way with four RBIs, while Trevor Coleman, Denny Almonte and Shaver Hansen each contributed two.

Though the JetHawks did not fully recover from their disastrous frame, they made it relatively close by smacking three homers in the game. Jonathan Meyer and Jose Thompson both hit three-run shots, and Kody Hinze launched his California League-leading 21st homer in the ninth.

Cisnero (3-7) took the loss after yielding six runs -- five earned -- in 1 1/3 innings. Reliever Colton Pitkin also had a day to forget on the mound, surrendering seven runs on five hits while recording just two outs.

High Desert reliever Willy Kesler (3-2) earned the win after giving up two runs on five hits over three innings. Starter Brandon Maurer was pulled after allowing six runs on five hits across the first three frames.