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Sewell homers twice, ‘Stangs topple Dodgers By Danny Penza Updated: Jul 09, 2022 10:01 PM A A 4 View all photos With so many games over the past week and a half, even the young Medford Mustangs bodies can be susceptible to a little bit of fatigue. Even with that being the case as they approached the end of that busy stretch Saturday, the Mustangs were able to fight through it. Led by Cameron Sewell’s monster day at the plate that included a pair of home runs, the Mustangs rolled to another American Legion AAA victory, beating the Salem Withnell Dodgers 11-4 at Lithia & Driveway Fields. “We’ve played a lot of games since last Friday, and you can see it in them that they’re tired,” said Mustangs assistant coach John King, who filled in for the under-the-weather Nate Mayben all week. “They didn’t have the energy that they had when we were in Reno, but they grinded it out That’s all that we asked for them is to grind it out. That’s why we do this (with the schedule) this part of the year — get in a lot of games so that when we get to the state tournament, if we’re lucky enough to get there, it’s easier that way.” With their win Saturday, the Mustangs won six of their seven games over a four-day stretch since returning to the valley after tournament play in Reno, improving their record to 23-6. The Mustangs return to the field for a 5 p.m. doubleheader at the Klamath Falls Falcons Monday evening. “It was a good win against a team that we could face up a state,” King said of facing the Dodgers. “It’s always good to get a couple since we beat them earlier in the year, too.” Sewell, the Mustangs’ shortstop, was a one-man wrecking crew as he helped his team break the game open after Medford held a 5-1 lead after five innings. The Mustangs built an early lead with two runs in the bottom of the first, as Jace Miller hit an RBI single and Jeremiah Robbins doubled the Medford lead with a sacrifice fly to center. An inning later, Kaleb Long scored on a Sewell groundout to short and Tanner Douglas hit an RBI single to make it 4-1. Robbins added a sac fly in the fifth to give the Mustangs a 5-1 lead. Then Sewell flexed his muscle not once, but twice. His first homer of the day came with two outs in the bottom of the sixth, as he launched a three-run home run to right field to score Johnny King and Cody Borraggine, who hit back-to-back singles to get their shortstop to the plate. Two innings later after Salem cut the Medford lead to 8-4 with three runs in the top of the eighth, Sewell had the powerful response. This time he sent a two-run home run to center field, again with two outs, to put the Mustangs in front 10-4. Miller — who has 10 hits in his Mustangs’ last three games — drove in the final run of the game with an RBI double two batters later. All told, Sewell finished 3-for-5 with a double, two home runs, six RBIs and scored three runs. “We kept fighting early, but Cam opened it up for us with his two home runs,” John King said. “He gave us a cushion so we didn’t have to ride (starting pitcher Frankie Rutigliano) too long on the mound. “The last home run he hit really put us at ease so we could go with somebody in (to pitch) like Jace who hasn’t thrown for us this summer,” continued King. “It was a good chance to get him in there and he feels like he’s getting something after working hard every day (with the pitchers) at games.” The two batters behind Sewell in the Mustangs order, Douglas and Miller, also had three-hit days. Douglas finished 3-for-5 with an RBI and a run, while Miller was 3-for-5 with a double and two RBIs. Borraggine was 2-for-4 and scored four times out of the leadoff spot, while Robbins drove in a pair of runs in the game. The top four hitters in the Mustangs order — Borraggine, Sewell, Douglas and Miller — accounted for 11 of the 13 hits Medford had against Salem. Rutigliano was the latest Mustangs pitcher to deliver a quality start and receive plenty of run support from his offense. Rutigliano scattered four hits and one run over his six innings of work, striking out four and walking one. “He got better as the game went on,” John King said of Rutigliano. “That’s kinda how his high school season went — if we could get him through the first couple of innings and get him locked in, he would throw really well. He walked the leadoff hitter but then got the next guys out and his second inning went really quick, so that helps him and gives him some confidence. He went out and threw strikes and threw very, very well today.” In all six of its wins this week, Medford has seen its starting pitcher throw at least six innings and allow no more than two earned runs. “The biggest thing for our pitchers, and we talk to them a lot about it as coaches, is that we have a really good defense so just throw strikes, try not to be so fine,” John King said. “When you start to put runs on teams, they don’t feel as much pressure to try and make that perfect pitch. With us scoring early and as many runs as we have been scoring lately, I think it’s really helped our pitchers and they can go out and relax a little bit and not feel that pressure of every pitch having to be perfect.” Salem Withnell Dodgers 010 000 030 — 4 9 1 Medford Mustangs 220 013 03x — 11 13 1 Laudette, Pearce (3), Webster (8) and Hassoun; Rutigliano, King (7), Miller (9) and Robbins. W — Rutigliano. L — Laudette. 2B — S: Muth, Wilson, Webster 2; M: Miller, Sewell. HR — M: Sewell 2. Reach reporter Danny Penza at 541-776-4469 or [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @penzatopaper. Photo by Denise Baratta. Medford Mustangs shortstop Cameron Sewell bumps fists with third base coach John King after hitting a home run in the sixth inning of Saturday’s win against the Salem Withnell Dodgers. Photo by Denise Baratta. Medford Mustangs pitcher Frankie Rutigliano allowed four hits in six innings of work in Saturday’s win over the Salem Withnell Dodgers. Photo by Denise Baratta. Medford Mustangs’ Cody Borraggine eyes third base on his way to scoring a run in the second inning Saturday against the Salem Withnell Dodgers. Photo by Denise Baratta. Medford Mustangs players Johnny King (1), Cody Borraggine, (14) and Tanner Douglas bump helments with Cameron Sewell, (16) after Sewell’s home run Saturday against the Salem Withnell Dodgers.