Culbreth dominates, 'Hawks win sixth straight

LANCASTER, Calif. - Ty Culbreth struck out a career-high eight in eight innings to lead the JetHawks over the Inland Empire 66ers, 5-1, on Wednesday night at The Hangar.
The JetHawks have now won six in a row and five straight over Inland Empire.
Culbreth allowed just four hits, one of them a solo homer by Jack Kruger. He walked two. The left-hander improved to 6-1 in nine starts since his promotion from Low-A Asheville. His eight innings were also a career-high.
The JetHawks led from wire-to-wire. Yonathan Daza singled with one out in the first, stole second, and came home on Sam Hilliard's RBI single.
Lancaster put up three runs in the fourth, all with two out. Wes Rogers started the rally with a single and stole his league-leading 64th base. After a walk to Mylz Jones, Avery Romero delivered a two-run double. Robbie Perkins followed with an RBI double of his own. In the seventh, Perkins came through with another RBI double.
Kruger hit his home run in the sixth inning for Inland Empire, the lone run for the 66ers in the contest.
Culbreth at one point retired eight in a row and 13 of 14. Marc Magliaro closed out the game with a perfect ninth inning, including one strikeout. Nate Bertness (1-1) suffered the loss for Inland Empire. The left-hander allowed four runs on six hits in six innings.   
Rogers, Romero, and Perkins had three hits apiece for the JetHawks. The game was played in two hours and 12 minutes, the fastest game at The Hangar this season.
The three-game series concludes on Thursday night at The Hangar. Right-hander Peter Lambert (5-1) will start for Lancaster against right-hander Ryan Clark (1-2). First pitch is 6:35 p.m.