May Madness Drives JetHawks Crazy Again

With the JetHawks suffering yet another loss in the month of May, maybe it is time to look at the calendar.

The JetHawks, who lost, 8-7, to the Modesto A’s before 5,677 at the Hangar on Saturday night to run their record in May to 6-18, have only six more days until June.

That is the good news. The bad news is they have five games remaining this month after their two-game winning streak was snapped.

If the JetHawks were looking for some relief Saturday, they couldn’t find it in their bullpen, which gave up three runs after starter Brett Hinchliffe was tagged for five runs.

Clint Gould (0-2) suffered the loss after he yielded two runs in the ninth, one on a wild pitch that allowed Rob DeBoer to score.

The JetHawks are still looking for relief and a break. They scored four runs in the bottom of the ninth with a bases-loaded walk, a two-run single by Scot Sealy and an RBI single by pinch-hitter Jose Cruz Jr.

But the threat ended with Sealy, the tying run, at third and James Clifford striking out against Modesto’s Chris Michalak.

Hinchliffe labored through six innings but avoided trouble in all but the fourth, when he allowed four runs on five hits.

The A’s chipped away at him with four singles, none hit very hard, but the crucial blow was a two-run double sprayed down the left-field line by left-handed hitting Mike Neill with two out.

The only other run Hinchliffe allowed was a home run by former Pepperdine standout Dave Newhan in the first that traveled an estimated 450 feet.

Shaw (4-1) was not overpowering, with only three strikeouts and four walks in six innings, but he held the JetHawks to one run and one hit through four innings before surrendering single runs and leaving Lancaster frustrated in the fifth and sixth.

The JetHawks stranded five runners in the two innings. They had the bases loaded with nobody out in the sixth before Jason Cook scored on a grounder by Jesus Marquez. But Shaw slammed the door by striking out James Clifford and getting Mike Lanza to ground out.

Hardly a consolation, JetHawk second baseman Cook reached base safely in four of five plate appearances and has done so now in 22 of his past 25.

Modesto 8, JetHawks 7

Modesto: 100 400 012 -- 8 13 1

JetHawks: 010 011 004 -- 7 5 2

Shaw, Walsh (7), Rajotte (9), Michalak (9) and DeBoer; Hinchliffe, Daniels (7), Pearce (8), Gould (8) and Augustine.

W--Shaw (4-1).L--Gould (0-2).S--Michalak (4).

2B: M--Neill 2.3B: J--Sealy.HR:M--Newhan (6).

Records: Modesto 27-21; JetHawks 23-27.