JetHawks Lose Game, Top Player

There wasn’t much action during the JetHawks’ 2-0 loss to the Lake Elsinore Storm on Sunday at the Diamond in the final game of the first half of California League play.

But there was quite a bit afterward.

The Seattle Mariners moved four players off the JetHawk roster, including the much-anticipated promotion of Jose Cruz Jr. to the double-A Port City Roosters in Wilmington, N.C. Outfielder Marcus Sturdivant also was promoted.

Cruz and Sturdivant will play in the California League-Carolina League All-Star Game on Tuesday before reporting to Port City.

Pitcher Tim Trawick and second baseman Adonis Harrison were sent to the Class-A Wisconsin Timber Rattlers in Appleton, Wisc. Trawick, a reliever for the JetHawks, will move into the starting rotation.

The JetHawks will begin the second half with four new players, all from Wisconsin. The most notable is starting pitcher Greg Wooten, the Mariners’ third-round pick in the 1995 draft.

Infielder Chris Dean and outfielders Scott Smith and Doug Carroll also will move to the JetHawks, who finished the first half 36-34.

The least surprising move is Cruz’s promotion. Cruz, 22, the third pick in the draft last year and the No. 1 prospect in the Mariner system, spent most of spring training in double-A camp before his assignment to Lancaster. He proved he was ready for a higher level by hitting .325 with six home runs and 43 runs batted in and playing flawlessly in the outfield.

“He needs to be challenged,” said JetHawk Manager Dave Brundage. “He was probably starting to think, ‘What do I have to do to go to the next level.’ ”

Said Cruz: “I don’t think it has sunk in yet. I’m really happy.”

Not as happy as Sturdivant, whose hometown of Oakboro, N.C., is just a two-hour drive from Wilmington.

“I still don’t believe it,” Sturdivant said with a wide grin. “I won’t believe it until I’m on the plane. I’m going home.”

Brundage said Sturdivant, 22, who had played 1 1/2 seasons in the California League, began blossoming at the All-Star break last year. He hit .284 with 31 RBIs and 24 stolen bases as the JetHawks’ leadoff hitter.