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June 4, 2004 - Subscribe - Contact Us - Rate Card - Place an Ad Valley&State Backpage O&E Sports Archives Classifieds Faith&Beliefs Obituaries Revels May 18, 2004 Dallas earns date with Grizz By Joe Zavala Ashland Daily Tidings The Ashland High baseball team's first-round playoff opponent will not have loads of playoff experience to lean on. But, that doesn't mean the Dallas Dragons won't be ready. "I just (tell the players), we need to worry about ourselves and just make sure we get ourselves sharp for the game," Dallas head coach Scot McDonald said Monday. "The good thing is, our league is full of lefties, and pretty good ones. � Our kids are excited to come down." Translation: Ashland's Chad Hegdahl won't be the first dominant south paw to face the Dallas lineup. Ashland, the No. 4 team from the Southern Oregon Conference, will take on Dallas, the No. 4 team from the Pac-9, Friday at North Mountain Park in the opening round of the 36-team Class 4A state playoff tournament. The first pitch is scheduled to be thrown at 4 p.m. Dallas (14-11), which was 10-6 in the Pac-9 and in contention for second place heading into the final day of the regular season, will be making its first-ever trip to the 4A playoffs, according to McDonald. The Dragons' fifth-year coach knows Ashland (14-11) likely will start Hegdahl, who should be ready to go after Saturday's complete-game shutout win over Grants Pass. McDonald learned of Hegdahl through Dallas junior varsity coach and AHS alum Jeff Turner, who visited Ashland and watched the Grizzlies play earlier this year. Facing a dominant south paw, says McDonald, won't be anything his team hasn't done before - several times. "In our league, it's really kind of pitching-dominated league," McDonald said. "There's not a lot of offense, really. Most of the time, it's been one or two runs (that decide games)." The Grizzlies can relate. Ten of Ashland's 21 league games were decided by two runs or less, and in their last seven games the Grizzlies are averaging just 2.1 runs. An enigma all year, Ashland has beaten some of the best teams in the state, but has also lost to some of the worst - sometimes in the same week. The Grizzlies dropped a 4-2 contest to SOC cellar-dweller Eagle Point back on April 24, then a week later toppled South Medford - ranked sixth in the state at the time - with Grizzly No. 2 starter Micah Weston on the mound. "I have high expectations, because I think we are one of the best teams to gear up for one game," said Ashland coach Jason Robustelli, who's leading the Grizzlies' fourth straight playoff team. "We can really put it together for that if our bats come around." McDonald says his best pitchers are Jason Braun and Matt Dimick. Braun is a junior right-hander and Dimick is a senior righty. Dimick also bats cleanup in the Dragons' lineup, while catcher Ryan Fobert and third baseman Justin Bowers also carry big sticks, says McDonald. McDonald says his team can't be pigeon-holed. "Sometimes it's been the bats, sometimes it's been defense and sometimes it's been pitching," he said. "It's just kind of who's on that day type of thing." McDonald has decided not to leave for Ashland until Friday morning. He says a five-hour-plus bus ride on game-day isn't ideal, but he wants his players to sleep in their own beds. The Ashland-Dallas winner will travel to face the Intermountain Conference champion in Monday's round of 32. DailyTidings.com Home Page Valley&State | Backpage | O&E | Sports | Archives | Weather | Classifieds Columnists | Faith&Beliefs | Obituaries | Revels | Subscribe | Contact Us Copyright 2004 Ashland Daily Tidings and Ottaway Newspapers All Rights Reserved Click Here Site Search: .:Advertisements:. RESOURCES - Mail Tribune News - ODOT Road Cams