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AMERICAN LEGION BASEBALL They're in: Pilots qualify for state Ashland clinches second place in league to earn spot in eight-team tournament Comment By Joe Zavala Ashland Daily Tidings DailyTidings.com By Joe Zavala Ashland Daily Tidings Posted Jul. 22, 2015 at 2:00 AM Updated Jul 22, 2015 at 11:02 AM By Joe Zavala Ashland Daily Tidings Posted Jul. 22, 2015 at 2:00 AM Updated Jul 22, 2015 at 11:02 AM » Social News The Ashland Pilots can check off their first goal of the summer because they’re headed to the American Legion A Oregon state tournament as the second-place team from Area 4 South. Ashland inched to within a game of securing one of the league’s two playoff bids by beating the Grants Pass Miners last Friday, then received a little help on Tuesday when North Medford swept the Southern Oregon Wolfpack, the only team behind Ashland in the league standings still within striking distance of the No. 2 spot. North Medford (36-7-1, 18-2 Area 4 South), the defending state champions, had already clinched the league title and will also be on hand when the state tournament begins July 29 at Agnew-Lytle Field. Ashland (22-8, 13-7) opens the eight-team tournament against an eastern Oregon foe, according to Ashland head coach Dave May. “We’re in pretty good shape to be in the state tournament,” May said before it became official, “but our goal all along was to get there. Now we have an opportunity to be one of the best teams in the state.” May said clinching the spot early will afford him the luxury of resting his top pitchers heading into the five-day tournament, which wraps up Aug. 2. The winner of the state tournament will advance to the Northwest Regional tournament the following week. “We’re going to set it up to where our pitching lines up who we want throwing the first game against the eastern Oregon team,” said May, in his first year as the Pilots head coach. Circumstances out of May’s control, however, will limit how far ahead he’ll be able to plan. That’s because the Ashland High football team hosts the Pacific Rim Bowl — the football game that pits Ashland against a team of Japanese all-stars every other year — on July 31 and several Pilots who are also football players will be occupied all or most of the week. The Ashland players who may or may not be available Monday through Friday are Nick Sanderson, TarQuin Daley and Justin Robinson. Christopher Buckley has a prior commitment that may pull him away as well. Those losses will be tough for the Pilots to overcome. Sanderson is one of the team’s best pitchers and hitters, Daley is batting .354 with 17 RBIs, Robinson is tied for second on the team with 11 walks and Buckley is 2-1 on the mound with a solid 3.78 ERA. “I’m not sure who I’m going to have,” May said. “Friday’s the hard one, but we’ve got to make it to Friday first before I can even start worrying about that. (AHS football coach Charlie Hall) and I have communicated and he wants them there and I want them where I’m at, but I’m not pressing the kids. If they show up, they show up. They’re going to focus on football and hopefully win a (football) game Friday.” Even if all of the football players miss the first three days of the tournament and don’t rejoin the team until Aug. 1, the day after the Pacific Rim Bowl, May believes the Pilots are capable of advancing to the semifinals and beyond. “I think we’re deep enough to where we’ll still compete, even if not everybody shows up,” he said. “We’re deep enough with whichever team we put on the field. You can’t replace Sanderson and his numbers, or Daley and his numbers, but we’ll try. We’ll give it our best effort, that’s for sure.” Kellar Edwards and Sanderson emerged as the staff aces during the regular season, with Edwards going 5-0 with a 2.62 ERA in 32 innings and Sanderson 4-1 with a 2.82 ERA in 22 1/3 innings. Also expected to see action on the mound at state for Ashland is Peyton Fuller, who’s 2-0 with a 3.85 ERA, Caleb Bell, Shea Scott, Kyle Milgram and Jesse Carroll. Offensively, Carroll, Sanderson, Daley and Jose Perez have been stellar, leading an Ashland lineup that’s batting .325 as a team. Sanderson’s batting .417 with two home runs, eight doubles, two triples and a team-high 37 RBIs. Carroll’s batting a team-high .494 with two home runs, nine doubles, three triples and 33 RBIs. Carroll also has 18 stolen bases, second only to Perez (19), and a .567 on-base percentage. “We’ll hit,” May said, “and that’s sort of been our thing.” Joe Zavala can be reached at 541-821-0829 or [email protected]. By Joe Zavala Ashland Daily Tidings DailyTidings.com By Joe Zavala Ashland Daily Tidings Posted Jul. 22, 2015 at 2:00 AM Updated Jul 22, 2015 at 11:02 AM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... 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