Vilade hustles to big night for JetHawks

After showing off his wheels by legging out three infield singles to start the night, Ryan Vilade made things easier on himself in his last at-bat.
Colorado's No. 6 prospect laced a liner to center in the bottom of the seventh inning for his second four-hit game of August, driving in three runs and scoring once, as Class A Advanced Lancaster beat Lake Elsinore, 9-4, on Tuesday night.

Vilade set the early tone by beating out a grounder deflected on its way through the infield by rehabbing Padres starter Jacob Nix in the first inning. Two frames later, the 2017 second-rounder reached first on a bouncer to short as part of a four-run third.
In the fourth, Vilade helped engineer another offensive push in his only plate appearance not reaching base, lofting a sacrifice fly to right that plated Austin Bernard in Lancaster's two-run frame.
Gameday box score
In the fifth, the 20-year-old's chopper up the middle enabled two runs to cross the plate. The knock gave Vilade his sixth three-RBI game of the season and first since Aug. 2, -- the date of Vilade's first career four-hit game.
After that contest, Vilade said he's learned when to take certain swings in certain situations.

"Consistently being able to put the barrel on the ball with some velocity -- high exit velocity -- is something that I've really worked hard on this year," he told MiLB.com. "Hitting the ball in the air, trying to do damage and drive the ball. I've also been put in some situations with some guys in scoring position and I'm trying to do a job. You know, hitting something in the air helps with that power, I think."
The Texas native was a .279 hitter heading into play on July 31, but Tuesday's effort lifted his average to .302. in 11 August games, Vilade has put up a .468/.451/.757 slash line with four homers, a triple, a double and 12 RBIs.
Colorado's No. 17 prospect Robert Tyler pitched a perfect ninth with a strikeout to close out the win.