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Defense lets down Grizz in first loss By Joe Zavala Ashland Daily Tidings The Ashland High defense finally showed cracks, the floodgates opened and just like that a beautiful spring afternoon turned ugly. When the dust cleared Friday, Crescent Valley parlayed five Grizzly sixth-inning errors into six runs, which proved more than enough to hand the home team its first loss of 2003, 8-3 at North Mountain Park. Ashland's Bryan Clevenger rounds third base on his way home. Ashland Daily Tidings/DENISE BARATTA Crescent Valley trailed 3-2 entering the sixth, but used three straight bunts, including the latter two with the bases loaded, to take the lead for good, 5-3. The first was a perfect drag down the third-base line that loaded the bases with nobody out and the game tied at 3. Moments later, after Ashland head coach Jason Robustelli replaced starting pitcher James Page with Elliott Stone, two straight squeeze bunts led to two more Raider scores. Ashland's inexperienced infield - only two Grizz infielders played varsity last year - held its own through the first four innings, but couldn't handle Crescent Valley's short game when the pressure was on. Robustelli said that's proof his team has plenty to work on between now and its April 5 Southern Oregon Conference opener at Klamath Union. "We're just kind of showing our inexperience at this level," Robustelli said. "This was our first true test, and we showed it. (The Raiders) are good, but we had 'em. That's the way I feel about it." Juniors Jackson Rowe and Ben Dodds each went 2-for-4 with a double to lead the Grizzlies (3-1) at the plate, while junior Arron Nelson was 2-for-3 with an RBI. Casey Bret went 2-for-3 with two runs scored and one RBI to lead the Raiders. Ashland scored the first run of the game on Rowe's RBI double to left-center in the bottom of the third. The blast drove home Bryan Clevenger (1-for-2, two runs scored), who drew a walk to get on base. Crescent Valley responded by scoring two runs of its own in the fifth to turn the tables. Saul Kaye's RBI single to right scored the Raiders' first run, and an Ashland throwing error by catcher Brian Ross allowed the second run to come across the plate, giving CV a 2-1 lead. Ashland came right back with two more in the bottom of the inning to quickly re-take the lead. Nelson hit an RBI single and Dodds scored on a wild pitch. A walk and two singles by Crescent Valley to kickoff the sixth tied the game, and the first successful bunt by the Raiders loaded the bases with nobody out. That's when Robustelli pulled Page, who had retired 15 of the first 21 batters he faced, five on strikes. Stone, a lefty, got ahead of the next batter 2-1 before another well-placed bunt drew in first baseman Zach Miedecke. Miedecke scooped up the ball 15 feet from home plate and had no play. The next batter, Casey Bret, bunted right to Stone, but the squeeze was on and Stone's throw home was too late. Kaye's sacrifice fly to right, Spencer Adkins' RBI ground rule double to left-center and another Grizz throwing error provided Crescent Valley with three more runs before a pop out finally brought Ashland's nightmare inning to an end. "When we're going downhill, we're rolling," Robustelli said. "When it gets bumpy like that, then who knows what's going to happen right now. We haven't proven that we can play in that tight game yet." The Grizzlies will get a chance to redeem themselves against an SOC opponent on Tuesday in a non-conference tilt at Grants Pass. Game time is 4 p.m. Ashland won't be at home again until second-ranked North Medford comes to town for a non-conference game April 8. The Grizzlies' first home league doubleheader will be against Roseburg April 19. "After playing two teams and winning by a lot, playing a team like this really put us in our place," Rowe said. "(We'll) come out here next time and perform, play baseball. The other teams in our conference are going to be playing at this level and higher, so this gives us a taste of what to expect coming up." LINKS: DAILY TIDINGS: Main | News | Sports | Obituaries | Opinion | Columnists | AP News | Subscribe | Archives | Weather | Classifieds | Contact Us | Privacy REVELS: Main | Calendar | Dining | Movies | T.V. OTHER: Road Cams Copyright 2003 Ashland Daily Tidings 541.482.3456. 1661 Siskiyou Blvd., Ashland, OR 97520. Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. - Advertisers -