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- Subscribe - Contact Us - Rate Card - Place an Ad Valley&State Backpage O&E Sports Archives Classifieds Faith&Beliefs Obituaries Revels May 17, 2004 Ashland secures playoff berth � barely By Joe Zavala Ashland Daily Tidings GRANTS PASS - For a tight-knit group that had just made the playoffs and was looking forward to the prom later that night, the Ashland High baseball team didn't exactly storm the mound in celebration following Saturday's doubleheader split against the Grants Pass Cavemen. Contributed photo | For the Tidings Ashland High Senior Pitcher Chad Hegdahl hurls a pitch against Grants Pass during Southern Oregon Conference baseball action Saturday at Grants Pass. Hegdahl earned the complete-game shutout win to help Ashland clinch a playoff berth. The Grizzlies looked impressive in their 3-0 Game 1 victory, which proved good enough to earn Ashland the fourth and final Southern Oregon Conference playoff spot. But Ashland followed that up with a disappearing act in Game 2, throwing in the towel after two strong innings in what turned out to be a 10-0, five-inning loss at the Grants Pass baseball field. The letdown cost Ashland the No. 3 seed, which came gift-wrapped with a first-round bye. Instead, the Grizzlies host the Pac-9 Conference No. 4 team Friday in a game that will determine who will travel to face the Intermountain No. 1 seed on Monday. "Good thing we only play one game at a time in the playoffs because two games is not our forte," Ashland coach Jason Robustelli said. "We come our fairly flat and pretty nasty in the second game no matter who's pitching or what happens." The 36-team Class 4A state playoff bracket wraps up June 5 with the championship game at Volcanoes Stadium in Keizer. Blown away After a nearly flawless pitching performance by senior south paw Chad Hegdahl in the opener, the Grizzlies were blown away by nine hits, including two home runs by Mike Mills, in the nightcap. Ashland starter Micah Weston, who entered the game with three consecutive gems under his belt, retired the first eight batters he faced. The ninth out would prove ellusive. With two outs in the third, Weston hit Jimmy Blake with a pitch, Matt Cowell reached on an infield single and Paul Fode took first on a Grizzly fielding error. That loaded the bases for Patrick Allen, who belted a bases-clearing double into the gap in left-center. It was all downhill from there for the Grizzlies, who were told late in Game 1 that Roseburg had dropped its first game to Eagle Point, allowing Ashland to clinch a playoff berth. "Everybody's minds were just out in space," Grizzly catcher Brian Ross said. Grants Pass added one in the fourth and finished off Ashland by scoring six in the fifth, two off Mills' second homer of the day. Cowell's two-out single to left brought home Steve Draper, who slid across the plate to trigger the 10-run mercy rule then jumped into the arms of his teammates. Grants Pass pitcher Ben Murray held the Grizzlies to two hits to improve to 1-1. By snaring the No. 3 seed, Grants Pass gets the first-round bye and will open state at the Intermountain No. 2 seed on Monday. "We kind of knew before the second game started that we were already in (the playoffs) so I guess we just rolled over in the second game," Hegdahl said. "Our heads weren't in the game and that could hurt us because now we're on a one-game losing streak after getting 10-runned. Entering the playoffs on that note is not good." Ace in the hole Hegdahl returned to form in the opener, his first appearance since getting shelled by North Medford a week earlier. He allowed just four hits and retired nine of the last 10 batters he faced after pitching out of a two-out, two-on jam in the fourth. With Ashland holding on to a 1-0 lead, consecutive fielding errors put Grants Pass runners on first and second with one out in the fourth. A sacrifice bunt by Nolan Morgan moved them up to second and third, bringing up Adam Donnelly for the most important at-bat of the day. Hegdahl worked the count to 1-2, then got Donnelly swinging on a wicked changeup. "I felt a lot better," Hegdahl said. "The last couple weeks I was pretty tired. I don't know if it was because I was in the outfield in the first game (of doubleheaders) and then came in and tried to pitch, but I came out here wanting to work on hitting my spots and I did that today." The Grizzlies added an insurance run on Rocky Reeser's RBI infield single in the sixth and another on a fielder's choice in the seventh. Game 1 also marked the surprise return of Grizzly sophomore slugger John Goldberg, who belted an RBI single in the first to give Ashland the lead for good. Goldberg injured his shoulder diving for a ball in practice about two weeks ago and was presumed lost for the season. He was cleared to bat only - not field - by his doctor on Thursday. At the time of his injury, Goldberg was tied for the team lead in home runs (2), was second on the team with 15 RBIs and had the second-highest batting average (.393). Hegdahl is the likely starter for Ashland's playoff-opener, with Weston or Aaron San Nicholas slated to start in a possible second playoff game. Ashland's best postseason run came in 2002, when the Grizzlies lost in the round of 16 at Oregon City. Ashland will need two wins, including one on the road, to get to the third-round again. Despite a season-long trend of inconsistent defense and inept offense - Ashland is averaging just 2.1 runs in its last seven games - Robustelli likes the Grizzlies' chances in a loser-out situation, pointing out that they've faired well in the opening games of doubleheaders. "We can gear up for that one game, no matter who's on the hill," Robustelli said. "I have high expectations, because I think we are one of the best teams to gear up for one game. We can really put it together for that if our bats come around." FIRST GAME Ashland 100 001 1 - 3 6 2 Grants Pass 000 000 0 - 0 4 3 Hegdahl and Ross; Morgan, Schaff (7) and Donnelly. W - Hegdahl. L - Morgan (8-4). 2B - A: Hegdahl, Rowe. SECOND GAME Ashland 000 00 - 0 2 2 Grants Pass 003 16 - 10 9 1 Weston, San Nicholas (4) and Ross; Murray and Donnelly. W - Murray (1-1). L - Weston. 2B - GP: Allen, Tuttle. HR - GP: Mills 2 (6). 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