Mathis Has Last Word and JetHawks Win, 5-1

LANCASTER â€”  When Joe Mathis saw his name in the No. 9 spot in the Lancaster JetHawks’ batting order before a 5-1 victory over the Modesto A’s on Friday night at the Hangar, he knew what it meant.

And he didn’t like it.

“They say the ninth hitter is the easiest out,� Mathis said. “I didn’t take it personally but I got a little tired of being the easiest out on the JetHawks.�

Mathis, normally the leadoff hitter, was mired in a two-for-27 slump before Manager Rick Burleson dropped him to the bottom of the order on Friday.

Mathis responded by collecting three hits, including his fifth home run.

“Things just went my way tonight,� Mathis said.

Chris Dean, who took Mathis’ leadoff spot, hit his sixth home run on the first pitch from Modesto’s soft-throwing Ray Noriega.

Mathis’ homer broke a 1-1 tie in the third inning and the JetHawks (24-24) scored three unearned runs in the sixth, with Dusty Wathan, David Skeels and Mathis providing the runs batted in.

That was more than enough for the JetHawks’ pitching staff, which has the California League’s highest earned-run average but has had two consecutive excellent games.

Right-hander Chris Beck (1-2) recovered nicely from a horrible start his last time out. Beck gave up one run and six hits in six innings, lowering his earned-run average from 9.82 to 7.40. He had eight strikeouts, several of which helped him defuse A’s scoring threats.

Left-hander Jason Bond gave up a leadoff hit in the seventh, but retired the next nine batters to record his first save.

The only negative for the JetHawks was third baseman Carlos Villalobos going hitless in four at-bats, ending his hitting streak at 15 games.