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GWL BASEBALL Win to relish Rogues clip Pickles in first Great West League game By Kris Henry Mail Tribune Follow @@Kris_Henry MailTribune.com By Kris Henry Mail Tribune Follow @@Kris_Henry Posted Jun. 4, 2016 @ 2:00 am Updated Jun 4, 2016 at 4:42 PM By Kris Henry Mail Tribune Follow @@Kris_Henry Posted Jun. 4, 2016 @ 2:00 am Updated Jun 4, 2016 at 4:42 PM --> Rogues 6, Pickles 4 RECAP: Connor Lowrie goes 2-for-4 with two runs and three RBIs and picks up the pitching save as Medford opens the inaugural season of the Great West League with a victory... » Read more X Rogues 6, Pickles 4 RECAP: Connor Lowrie goes 2-for-4 with two runs and three RBIs and picks up the pitching save as Medford opens the inaugural season of the Great West League with a victory. UP NEXT: Tonight, 6:35, Portland at Medford, Harry & David Field.     » Social News p bs:newslist StartDate="20121121" EndDate="p bs:datecalc Months="3"" DateSort="1" UseObjects="1" ObjectClass="81" Taxonomywords="2325,665" ExactTaxonomyMatch="1" Image="1" Count="4" --> Connor Lowrie has only been in Medford for four days but the Blackhawk Junior College standout made himself right at home Friday for the Rogues in the Great West League season opener against the Portland Pickles at Harry & David Field. The starting second baseman drove home the first run in league history with a second-inning single, made more history in the fifth with the inaugural league’s first home run and capped his sensational debut by earning the first GWL save with three strikeouts in the ninth — including a final one with the bases loaded and two outs as Medford held on for a 6-4 triumph. A crowd of 1,142 braved the heat for the first game of a three-game series at Harry & David Field. Games 2 and 3 are tonight and Sunday, both starting at 6:35 p.m. “I honestly just came out here and wanted to show out,” said Lowrie, who batted .258 with 25 runs and 14 RBIs and had a 1-1 pitching record with two saves as a JC freshman this past spring in Moline, Illinois. “I heard there was a lot of fans coming and I just tried to be loose and did my thing.” That theme carried over throughout the lineups of both teams, really, as the Rogues (1-0) and Pickles (0-1) played a pretty clean game. Portland managed 14 hits and had two throwing errors and Medford had 10 hits with no errors and only one walk and one hit batter. “That was the best played season opener or home opener that I’ve honestly been a part of in probably all my years of West Coast League baseball and now to here,” said Rogues manager Josh Hogan. “That was very good baseball, quality baseball. Everybody was playing good and we were throwing strikes. We only had two free bases. I’ve never had that in a first game; it’s usually like 10 or 13 and a little ugly.” Medford struck first in the bottom of the second inning thanks to a one-out double by Cameron Russ and an ensuing RBI single by Lowrie. With two outs, former Crater High standout Corey Wynant ripped an RBI single off third baseman Bobby Kinne for a 2-0 advantage. Portland cut its deficit in half in the top of the third when Nick Grimes singled home Denis Shanagher as the Pickles managed three straight hits off Medford starter D.J. Wilson. Further damage was limited, however, when David Bellamy made a running catch in center field and then shortstop Russ and second baseman Lowrie turned a quick double play to close the inning. The Rogues answered with a run in the bottom of the third after a one-out double by Robby Teel, who came in to score on a throwing error by shortstop J.T. Navarro after a nifty bare-handed grab on Lowrie’s high chopper. The big blow by Lowrie came in the bottom of the fifth when Russ blooped a two-out single to right field against reliever Peyton Burks and Lowrie broke loose when he turned on a pitch to send it over the left field wall for a two-run homer and 5-1 lead. “I was 0-2 thinking fastball and rack anything offspeed because I wasn’t going to let him beat me with any benders, and I just reacted,” said Lowrie. “I thought it was a double out of the box, honestly, and I was running hard and heard the crowd roar and that slowed me up a little bit. It was a great feeling.” Portland finally got to Wilson in the sixth inning with singles by Stephen Chavez, Andrew Garcia and Marcus Doi setting the table for an RBI groundout by Stefan Panayiotou and two-run ground-rule double by Shanagher. Former Crater standout Chris Painter, who graduated with Wynant in 2012, responded with two scoreless innings of relief. The left-hander allowed only one hit and was immediately rescued by the infield trio of Russ, Lowrie and first baseman Wynant, who hustled down an errant throw on the double-play effort and relayed the ball back to Lowrie for a final putout at second base. “That was a pretty good night, especially for a team where none of us really know each other,” said Wynant, who also played on the inaugural Rogues team in 2013. “We just came out here and shared the game of baseball. It’s a really great game and we love it and we just tried to do it to the best of our ability and today was rolling for us pretty well.” Johnny DeLaCruz tacked on an insurance home run to lead off the bottom of the eighth inning and Lowrie looked in total control taking over on the mound in the ninth before a grounder got through the right side for a single by J.T. Navarro. A walk to Nick Grimes was followed by Lowrie hitting Bobby Kinne to load the bases. Undaunted, Lowrie tightened his belt to secure a game-clinching strikeout of Stephen Chavez. “Honestly it took all my strength,” Lowrie said of the final strikeout. “I was dead, my legs were dead and I just wanted to get it over with and get the win and go home.” Russ finished 3-for-4 with two runs, Wynant 2-for-4 with one RBI, Teel 1-for-4 with one run and Bellamy 1-for-3 with a pair of nice catches. Navarro was 3-for-5 and Doi 3-for-4 with one run for the Pickles, while Garcia and Shanagher each had two hits. But on this night, it was Lowrie who stole the show. “I liked his swing yesterday but I didn’t know we were going to be getting the position player Connor Lowrie that we got,” said Hogan. “We were getting the pitcher, I knew that, and I heard that he could play a little bit of offense and defense, but I didn’t think it was going to be that special. I think it’s going to continue because of the fundamentals that he has there and the mentality.” For his part, Lowrie credited his supportive teammates and a warm welcome from the Medford faithful for his stellar start. “The crowd is what brought the intensity,” said Lowrie. “The crowd brings the intensity and makes us want to play and do what we do best and that’s play baseball. You have to give a lot of the credit to the fans.” “I’ve only been here four days,” he added, “but Medford’s nice, the weather’s nice and it’s a great city to play baseball in under the lights on a great field. I just like being out here.” Portland;001;003;000;—;4;14;2 Medford;021;020;10x;—;6;10;0 Eppenbach, Burks (5) and Garcia; Wilson, Painter (7), Lowrie (9) and Teel. W — Wilson (1-0). L — Eppenbach (0-1). S — Lowrie (1). 2B — P: Panayiotou, Shanagher; M: Russ, Teel. HR — M: Lowrie (1), DeLaCruz (1). Reach reporter Kris Henry at 541-776-4488, [email protected], www.facebook.com/krishenryMT or www.twitter.com/Kris_Henry By Kris Henry Mail Tribune Follow @@Kris_Henry MailTribune.com By Kris Henry Mail Tribune Follow @@Kris_Henry Posted Jun. 4, 2016 @ 2:00 am Updated Jun 4, 2016 at 4:42 PM » Comment or view comments Terms of Service /* $( document ).ready(function() { // Jquery mobile is trying to style the button and leaving a blank gry button on top of a white button $("#viafouracoms .vf-comment-controls li.vf-right").html(' Submit '); });*/ » 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. fantasy football Fantasy Stars Who've Been Hurt by NFL Offseason Jun. 2, 2016 at 7:00 am Second-Year Fantasy Football Players Primed for Breakout May. 29, 2016 at 7:00 am Fantasy Football 2016: An Early Look at Potential Rookie Sleepers May. 21, 2016 at 7:00 am calendar Connect with MailTribune.com Facebook Twitter RSS Back to top Reader Services Reader Services Home Subscriptions Subscriber controls Contact us Submissions Photos Events Letters to the editor Corrections Announcements Obituaries Story ideas Since you asked Alerts Email Alerts RSS Feeds Text Alerts Advertise Media Kit Home Products and services Ad rates Advertising contacts Propel Marketing Mail Tribune Daily Tidings The Nickel Shop Our Valley Blogs Mobile Site 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. 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