Arms, gloves lead Lancaster to victory

LANCASTER, Calif. - The JetHawks didn't allow a hit over the final five innings and received some spectacular defense helping them to a 5-1 win over the Inland Empire 66ers at The Hangar on Saturday night.

Tyson Perez (2-3), the piggy-back starter, took over in the sixth inning with a 2-1 lead and tossed three hitless innings. The only baserunner he allowed reached base via an error.

Perez was given plenty of defensive help in the sixth inning. After Raoul Torrez made a good play on a tough groundball at third base, centerfielder Andrew Aplin ended the inning on one of the best defensive plays of the season.

Andy Workman hit a deep line-drive toward the fence in right-centerfield and Aplin raced into the gap, catapulted himself into the air and made a full-extension diving catch to rob the hitter of extra-bases. Aplin hit the warning track and slid towards the wall before reaching up to show the umpires, and the admiring crowd, that he had made the catch.

Lancaster's offense responded by scoring insurance runs in the seventh and eighth innings. Delino DeShields put himself in scoring position with a one-out double in the seventh, and after moving to third base on a ground ball, scored on a Tony Pena wild pitch. The JetHawks have scored five times on wild pitches in the series.

Preston Tucker led off the eighth inning with a single to extend his hitting streak to nine games. Brandon Meredith moved him over to second base with a bunt to bring Tyler Heineman to the plate. The catcher hit a ground ball to first base that went through the legs of Michael Snyder and into right field. Tucker scored on the play. Later in the inning, Raoul Torrez reached base on a single and eventually came around to score on a passed ball.

Travis Ballew struck out two batters in a perfect ninth inning to end the game. It was not a save situation.

David Rollins allowed one unearned run on two hits over four innings in his sixth start of the season. The left-hander struck out three and walked three.

Lancaster took an early lead in the first inning when Joe Sclafani walked and scored on an Andrew Aplin double. The RBI gave Aplin a league-leading 43 on the season and a team-high 16 doubles.

With the game tied 1-1 in the fourth inning, Meredith tripled off 66ers starter Dan Reynolds (4-5). With two outs, Meredith attempted a straight steal of home and Zach Wright was called for a catcher's balk to allow the run to score automatically.

The JetHawks (28-20) have taken the first three games of the series against Inland Empire (25-22) and a 2.5 game lead in the South Division standings. The final game of the series is Sunday at 2:00 pm. Luis Cruz (2-3, 5.45) will start against Mark Sappington (5-1, 2.95) on Family in the Park Sunday.

Don't miss a moment of the 2013 season as the JetHawks look to repeat as California League Champions. Season tickets and great ticket packages are available now. To order, call (661) 726-5400 or visit jethawks.com.