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Pilots downed by Eagles By Joe Zavala Ashland Daily Tidings If Ashland's doubleheader loss to Eureka on Monday was a preview of what's to come in this weekend's Eureka Tournament, the reviews could be out-panned only by the prognosis. The Falcons, an American Legion AAA squad, crushed the Pilots, an A team, 13-7 in the opener and 15-3 in five innings in the nightcap, handing Ashland its eighth and ninth consecutive losses following a season-opening win. The games were not as close as the final scores indicated. Eureka jumped out to a 10-0 lead in Game 1 before holding off a late Pilots' rally, then scored 14 runs on 12 hits in the second inning of Game 2, adding to what turned out to be a six-hour hitting exhibition. When the massacre finally ended, Eureka left North Mountain Park with 31 hits, including six for extra bases, eleven walks and enough runs to win going away despite playing spotty, sometimes awful defense. "When we play 3A teams, we're going to face some good teams, so we have our hands full," Ashland head coach Scott Nelson said. "Not only that, but we've played a lot of games over the last week and I have to rest kids. I had five pitchers out here I couldn't throw today because they're tired, they're sore, they've got to rest so that they're available later on down the road. I had two kids pitch for the first time today and I had one kid pitch for the second time today, so that gives you an idea." Ashland fell to 1-9 overall heading into the Eureka's AAA tournament, which begins Friday and ends Sunday and will feature some of the best American Legion teams in California. The Pilots are guaranteed at least four games. Eureka designated hitter Steve Morgan put on a show, going 6-for-8 on the day, with three home runs and nine RBIs, including a spectacular two-dinger, seven-RBI performance in Game 1. Also for the Falcons, Will Morgan went 5-for-10 with four runs scored and two RBIs, leadoff hitter Eric Giacone went 5-for-9 with three runs scored and five RBIs and Jimmy Smith went 2-for-7 with two runs scored and four RBIs. For the Pilots, Arron Nelson went 3-for-5 on the day with one run scored and one RBI, Brian Ross went 3-for-6 with one run scored and one RBI, and Jackson Rowe went 2-for-4 with one run scored and another batted in. Nelson also picked up one of Ashland's three stolen bases in the opener and garnered the Pilots' lone extra-base hit - a double to right in the fourth inning of Game 2. With staff aces James Page and Micah Weston unavailable to pitch for different reasons - Page had to work and Weston was still resting after pitching Saturday - the Pilots' already inexperienced bullpen became even greener, and suffered accordingly. Ashland High junior Josh McDermott started the opener and gave up six runs on eight hits before coach Nelson pulled him prior to the third in favor of AHS senior Jackson Rowe. One of those hits proved telling: Steve Morgan launched a 3-2 pitch over the centerfield wall with the bases loaded in the second, giving the Falcons an early 6-0 lead. Making his first appearance on the mound in over a year, Rowe allowed six runs over the next four innings before Ben Dodds replaced him three batters and no outs into the seventh. Chase Cook, who played catcher for Ashland High, started the nightcap and was replaced by Dodds after Eureka's first 12 batters of the second inning reached base. Brian Ross took over for Ashland in the third and held the Falcons to three hits and a walk over the final three innings. Defensive miscues also hurt the Pilots in both games. Ashland committed four errors in the first game and three in the second. "We just can't afford to give up more than three outs in an inning," Dodds said. "That makes it real tough, especially for somebody like me who doesn't throw much." In Game 1, Eureka scored four runs in the fourth to go up 10-0, only to commit five errors in the fifth to allow the Pilots to score seven and extend the game. The Falcons added three in the seventh for the final score. In Game 2, Eureka scored all the runs it would need in a second frame that quickly turned into a nightmare for the home team. Ashland didn't get the first out of the inning until Mike Brandi popped out 17 batters in. The next batter, Jeff Mielke, singled to right, then Steve Morgan, batting for the third time in the inning, grounded into an inning-ending double play. "I'm not anywhere remotely satisfied," coach Nelson said. "I mean, we can play much better defensively, that's my biggest concern. Offense is going to be sporadic and erratic, but our defense has been really inconsistent, I mean really inconsistent. We've really only had a couple good defensive games, and we easily could have won four of the last seven games we've played just by playing better defense and we just haven't done it. So, until that comes around, it's going to be hard for us to be really competitive, and right now we're not." 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 -