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May 28, 2004 - Subscribe - Contact Us - Rate Card - Place an Ad Valley&State Backpage O&E Sports Archives Classifieds Faith&Beliefs Obituaries Revels March 24, 2004 Opportunistic Grizzlies send Spartans packing By Joe Zavala Ashland Daily Tidings Arron Nelson was not proud of his season-opening performance at Yreka. "I went like 0-for-4 with a walk," Ashland High's senior center fielder said of Saturday's game. "That was really degrading, so I had to come back." He did, crushing three triples for five RBIs while leading the Grizzlies past stumbling Hillsboro 10-0 in five innings, Tuesday at North Mountain Park. The Grizzlies (2-0) needed just six hits to finish off the Spartans by the 10-run mercy rule thanks to two costly Hillsboro errors and a pair of wild pitches that led directly to Grizzly runs. Nelson, who finished 3-for-4, walloped a line drive to deep left field with two outs in the second inning to bring in two runs and extend Ashland's lead to 4-0. His second triple drove in two more in the fourth, pushing the lead to 7-0, and his final three-bagger with two outs in the fifth fittingly scored the game-winner. "That really beefs up my ego," he said. The game may have had the same effect on Ashland senior pitcher Micah Weston, who allowed just two hits in 4 2/3 innings to gain a shutout win in his first appearance on the mound this year. Grizzly sophomore Aaron SanNicolas earned the save by getting the only batter he faced, Darren Laws, to fly out with two out and a runner on second in the fifth. "Micah did really well today," Ashland coach Jason Robustelli said. "It's something that he can do. He can bring that game every day." Hillsboro senior lefty Garrett Hubrich looked dominant early, but struggled to get his fast ball under control and paid the price. He struck out two of the first five Grizzlies he faced, but walked four and threw two wild pitches in the second inning before being replaced by Greg Cooper. Cooper was yanked in the fourth with runners at first and third and two outs, but his replacement, Anthony Delegato, didn't fare much better. Ashland's next batter, senior first baseman Chad Hegdahl, ripped a two-RBI double to right, giving the Grizzlies a 9-0 lead. "I think it went real well," said Robustelli, who watched his team play a game for the first time this season after missing the Yreka game to attend a wedding. "The first guy [Hubrich] came out and he had a little bit on his fastball, that kind of set us down a little bit. But, when we got into a control game with those guys we were able to hit the ball very well." Robustelli also liked the Grizzlies' defensive performance, a one-error gem that should help the Grizzlies forget about Saturday's four-error game. "Routine plays were made all day," Robustelli said. "We weren't flashy or spectacular really, but we got the job done and looked good doing it." While Robustelli has already said that Ashland's infield will be one of interchangeable parts, the unit that played against Hillsboro looked very good. With Ben Dodds at third, Rocky Reeser at third, Steve Jorgensen at short and Hegdahl at first, the Grizzlies had no trouble turning a variety of grounders into easy outs. Jorgensen came through with two of the prettiest defensive plays in the third inning - a diving stab for out No. 1 and a sliding stop followed by a put-out throw from a sitting position for out No. 3. The game was one of three Ashland will play while it hosts the three-day, eight-team Ashland High School Baseball Tournament. The Grizzlies face Sunset today at the junior varsity field and Summit on Thursday back at North Mountain Park. "We've got to keep making sure that we can do the small ball stuff, get the one run at a time when we need to get it done, but we can't just settle for that one run," Nelson said. "We really go up, then down, down, down. We just need to slowly, gradually take the energy up. That's something we need to work on." 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 Site Search: .:Advertisements:. RESOURCES - Mail Tribune News - ODOT Road Cams