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- Subscribe - Contact Us - Rate Card - Place an Ad Valley&State Backpage O&E Sports Archives Classifieds Faith&Beliefs Obituaries Revels March 26, 2004 Birthday boy lights up Summit in Grizz win By Joe Zavala Ashland Daily Tidings Not even a steady rainfall could spoil Chad Hegdahl's birthday party. Ashland high senior pitcher Chad Hegdahl hurls a pitch to a Summit batter Thursday at North Mountain Park. Hegdahl pitched a five-inning no-hitter and blasted two doubles for four RBIs, all on his 18th birthday. Satsuki Doi | Ashland Daily Tidings The senior lefty turned 18 Thursday and celebrated by slicing up Summit like a cake from both the mound and the plate. He struck out 10 batters in a five-inning no-hitter and helped his own cause by lining two doubles that led to four RBIs. The stunning performance gift wrapped Ashland's 10-0 win and capped for the Grizzlies a perfect 4-0 opening week. "I was looking forward to it," said Hegdahl, who made his 2004 pitching debut after playing first base in Ashland's first three games. "I was getting anxious and I just wanted to get out there and work on stuff, and I thought I did that well today." His catcher, senior Brian Ross, was more impressed. "Chad had an excellent game," he said. "I'd say 90 percent of the spots I put out there, he hit, with a slippery ball and everything. He was just on today, and he was obviously on with the bat, too." Painting the corners with regularity, Hegdahl struck out at least two batters in every inning but the third and retired the side in the fourth. Only three Summit batters reached base - two on Grizzly errors and the other on a game-opening walk - and no Summit player advanced past second. Robustelli said Hegdahl has improved his control since last season, when he earned first-team all-Southern Oregon Conference honors for the second year in a row. "That movement is really what makes him Chad," Robustelli said. "He's not going to blow too many people away, it's just that with changing the speed and all the movement, he's real effective. He does everything you ask of him." The result was a one-man show every time it was the Storm's turn to bat. The Grizzlies had no such problems against Summit's J.T. Eilertson. The junior pitcher walked three, hit two batters and allowed each of Ashland's nine hits. Four of those drives went for extra bases, including Hegdahl's two-RBI shot to right-center in the first and two-RBI ground rule double to right in the fourth. Ashland took control early by scoring five runs on four hits in the first inning. The Grizzlies put the game away in the fourth by adding another five runs on five hits. Hegdahl wasn't the only big swinger in the Grizzly lineup. Senior shortstop Micah Weston (1-for-3) drove home two runs with a double down the first base line in the first; junior catcher Steve Jorgensen (1-for-2) spanked a two-RBI single to center in the fifth; and moments later Ross (1-for-2, walk) walloped a run-scoring double to right to complete the offensive explosion. Eight different Grizzlies collected hits, as Ashland finished an impressive three-game tournament with 28 runs on 23 hits, despite the fact that each game was stopped after five innings. "We're feeling really, really good," Ross said. "It feels like we're hitting the ball really well, we're definitely playing better 'D' than we may have at the end of last year, and we're also coming into games with a little bit of confidence, a little burst." Now, Ashland turns its attention to its Southern Oregon Conference schedule, which begins with a nonleague tune-up Tuesday against Grants Pass and continues with the league-opening doubleheader April 3 against Klamath Union. High on Robustelli's priority list is determining a pitching rotation, which, he admits, is a work in progress. Hegdahl is penciled in as a starter, but that seems to be the only safe bet. Weston, Ross, sophomore Aaron SanNicolas, junior Andrew Del Carlo and junior Josh McDermott have also seen time on the mound during the preseason. However the rotation evolves, the Grizzlies are confident that they'll be able to provide plenty of run support. Confidence, in fact, seems to be the magic word in the Ashland dugout, as the Grizzlies continue to pick up steam. "From here, a lot of it's going to be mental," Ross said. "(We can't) look at North Medford and say, 'Wow, it's North Medford.' "We just 10-runned two teams, so I think we can play with them this year." 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 Click Here Site Search: .:Advertisements:. RESOURCES - Mail Tribune News - ODOT Road Cams