On Saturday night I made my first trip to Lancaster to see a first-place showdown between the Jethawks and the High Desert Mavericks at The Hangar. The visiting Mavericks had won the first two games of the series to take a one-game lead in the South, including a 9-0 romp on Friday night.
3,834 fans saw a much better performance by the home team on Saturday night as the Jethawks raced out to a 3-0 lead in the first inning and went on to win 7-1, pulling even with High Desert atop the South division at 11-6.
On my radar for this trip on the Jethawks’ side were starter Vincent Velasquez, 2012 #1 overall pick SS Carlos Correa and top-of-the-order sparkplug OF Tony Kemp. For High Desert, Patrick Kivlehan had hit two homers in each of the first two games of the series and had the Cal League lead with 7.
Velasquez, the Astros #6 prospect, was the reigning Pitcher of the Week for the Cal League and he continued his early dominance with five shutout innings. The Mavericks got just one hit off of Velasquez, who walked three and struck out four. When Velasquez gave way to his tandem partner Kyle Westwood with a 3-0 lead, Westwood handled the final four innings for the save allowing a run on two hits and a walk.
The Jethawk offense was hitting on all cylinders to start the game as Kemp led off with a solid single and came home on a double to the gap by CF Ruben Sosa. Sosa scored moments later when he stole third and the throw from C Steve Baron went into left field. Brandon Meredith made it 3-0 with a home run, and that was it for the scoring until the bottom of the sixth.
Velasquez had baserunners during his five innings, but he got double-play balls on two separate occasions to keep the Mavericks from capitalizing. With the win, Velasquez improved to 4-0 while lowering his ERA to 1.29.
Correa is the Astros’ top organizational prospect and he showed why in this game, filling up the box score and playing flawless defense at shortstop. Correa was 3-for-3 at the plate with a double and a triple, improving his batting line to .281/.338/.469. Defensively, he made two very athletic plays, a diving grab of a liner to his right and a slick pick of a sharp grounder to his left that he wheeled and threw on a line to first for the putout.
With OF George Springer making his MLB debut earlier in the week, the Astros are just starting to tap into their pipeline of elite talent that they have recently amassed through the draft and trades. 1B Jon Singleton figures to be up soon as he is tearing up AAA, but Correa isn’t far behind, even at the young age of 19.
Kivlehan went 1-for-4 with a double and scored High Desert’s only run while the club only managed a total of three hits off of Velasquez and Westwood. SS Tyler Smith doubled and walked twice while 1B Jordy Lara singled and drove in the only run. That was it for the Mavericks.
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The ballpark experience was excellent with a big crowd in the very nice facility, The Hangar. It’s right off the freeway, and there is plenty of parking for $5. Ballpark staff was friendly and enthusiastic and the crowd was alive throughout. I’m not sure I’ve seen a foul ball into the stands generate as much excitement as I did when a couple of them landed on the first-base side.
The wind was steady throughout the game and it may have had something to do with Meredith’s homer in the first. (Meredith hit another homer to CF later in the game that didn’t need much help). I sat down the LF line for a few innings, right behind the Mavericks’ bullpen and there was a high fly ball that I had to turn my back to the field to see as it sailed past, at least 5 rows back. As I followed the ball, I continued turning all the way around, back to facing the field, and saw the left fielder catch it in foul territory. The Mavericks pitchers laughed and shook their heads at the flight of the ball and what the wind did to it.
But, while the wind may affect a ball in the air, it didn’t make for a bad ballpark experience. I had layers for when the sun went down.
So, a good ride out into the desert. A good game (for the home team, anyway) with some elite talent on the field. A good ballpark experience at a really nice facility. All that added up to a great baseball road trip. Lancaster is going to be a regular stop for me from here on out.
All photos: Steve Cummings/CalLeagueHeat.com
