Wooten Pitches In, JetHawks Win

LANCASTER — Brett Hinchliffe, you’re it.

Hinchliffe will take the ball for the JetHawks today, and his buddies in the starting rotation have passed him a heavy baton.

Greg Wooten gave up two runs in eight innings, beating the Lake Elsinore Storm, 3-2, Saturday night at the Hangar before 5,166, giving the JetHawks a third consecutive quality start for the first time since July 5-7.

It translated into a third consecutive victory, pulling the JetHawks to within 4 1/2 games of Lake Elsinore and the High Desert Mavericks in the California League Southern Division second-half race. The JetHawks have 15 games remaining.

“It’s put-up-or-shut-up time,” catcher Dusty Wathan said. “We realize it and we are finally starting to do something about it.”

Although the JetHawks have played well in all aspects in the past few days, the starters have stood out. Trey Moore gave up one unearned run in nine innings Wednesday and Ken Cloude gave up three runs in seven innings Friday.

Wooten scattered six hits and struck out six. He was pulled after issuing his first walk, to Bret Hemphill leading off the ninth.

Tom Szimanski induced a double play but gave up a double to Greg Morris. Manager Dave Brundage then came out and gave Szimanski a pep talk before the reliever retired Phil Dauphin on a foul pop to Wathan, saving the game for Wooten.

Wooten, a 22-year-old right-hander taken in the third round of last summer’s draft, has been the most consistent of the JetHawks’ starters since joining the team at the all-star break.

In 10 previous starts, he went at least six innings nine times and gave up three earned runs or fewer eight times.

Wooten (6-3) needed 12 pitches or fewer to retire the Storm in five of the innings. After giving up a pair of hits to lead off the fourth, he retired 15 of 16 hitters.

“I think I was able to do what I wanted to do with all the hitters,” Wooten said. “I had all my pitches working early.”

He induced 15 groundouts and three flyouts, striking out the rest.

“That’s pretty much my game, throw the sinker and let them pound it into the ground,” he said.

Wooten fell behind, 2-0, in the fourth on Hemphill’s leadoff home run, the sixth homer Wooten has allowed in 74 2/3 innings.

The JetHawks scored three in the fourth on consecutive singles by Jason Cook, Jesus Marquez, Scott Smith and James Clifford.