Wild Pitchers Elbowing Out JetHawk Catchers

Catch them if you can.

Thanks to a recent spate of wildness by opposing pitchers, the JetHawks are running out of catchers.

Andy Augustine sat out Thursday night’s game because he was hit by a pitch. He began Friday night’s game on the bench but entered in the sixth inning because backup Dusty Wathan was plunked.

Augustine started Saturday, but Wathan is out three to four days.

The injuries are similar--Augustine was hit on his right elbow, Wathan on his left--and the predicament is obvious.

“You can’t go with one catcher,” said JetHawk Manager Dave Brundage, who likely will call up a reserve catcher from Peoria. “Hopefully, we can put a couple elbow guards on everybody’s elbows and we’ll be all right.”

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San Bernardino’s Ryan Luzinski, the son of former major league player Greg Luzinski, was unhappy after Friday night’s 4-2 loss to the JetHawks.

In the third inning, Luzinski tried to move to third base on a single but was called out by umpire Pat Spieler, ruining a chance at a big inning.

“I was safe,” said Luzinski, who was none too delicate in his appraisal of the umpiring crew.

“That was a big play at the time. It could have changed the game.”

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JetHawk fans who believe in repeating the past will like the apparent match-up in Sunday’s game against San Bernardino.

Kevin Pincavitch, who has been developing a knuckleball, is slated to start for the Stampede.

Fine with the JetHawks.

On July 14, they rocked Ryan Sowards, who was with San Bernardino at the time, for nine runs in 1 1/3 innings. And in the home opener against Visalia, they scored six runs in two-thirds of an inning against Mike Nartker.

“We’ve had success against them so far this year,” Brundage said. “Knock on wood.”

But beware. Pincavitch has a solid teacher: Former major league knuckler Charlie Hough is the Stampede’s pitching coach.

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Sunday is the final regular-season home game for the JetHawks, who will close out the regular season with three games at Rancho Cucamonga and four at San Bernardino.

The only seats available for Sunday are in the grass area.

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Tonight’s Game:

San Bernardino (Pincavitch, 7-8, 5.09) at JetHawks (Marino Santana, 8-14, 4.95), 7:05 p.m.