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Grizz miss out on top SOC honors By TIM TROWER Ashland coach Doug Stover will leave it to others to analyze the Southern Oregon Conference baseball all-star voting. After the Grizzlies claimed their first league title in history, they seemed destined to haul away the top trophies when the coaches met at the end of the regular season to vote. Ashland was represented - three first-teamers, a second-teamer and three who received honorable mention - far beyond what it was last year, when one player made the second team. But it could have been better. Stover, in his third year, seemed the leading candidate for coach of the year, but he was beaten out by Dave Steen, the venerable Klamath Union coach who is retiring. Steen clearly commands the respect of his peers after 36 years in the business, including 30 at KU, but this year, the Pelicans won four SOC games and placed seventh out of eight teams. Similarly, Ashland's Mike Allen had numbers befitting a player-of-the-year honoree: as a pitcher, 6-0 with a 1.37 ERA in conference, beating every team he faced - he missed one doubleheader because of illness; he also batted .342 as the Grizzlies' cleanup hitter. He was an integral reason Ashland enjoyed unprecedented success, but he was beaten out in player-of-the-year balloting by Roseburg shortstop Ole Sheldon, who batted .435 with 18 runs and 10 RBIs on the Indians' fourth-place team. In both instances, the votes were spread out beyond those coaches and players mentioned. Stover was unruffled over the coach vote and roundly praised Steen. "I don't think they should just give him coach of the year," said Stover. "They should build a stadium for him." Stover's reward, he said, is that he gets to see his kids wearing patches that denote their SOC title. "Everyone comes up and shakes my hand and says what a great, great season," said Stover, noting that Ashland won two league games last year and was picked to place sixth this year. "The kids should get all the accolades. Guess what, I didn't get a single base hit, and guess what, I didn't throw a pitch all year." The award for Steen stoked emotional embers he's dealt with much of this farewell season. "It was a surprise," he admitted. "But there have been a lot of surprises this year." He's been honored at a number of stops - including by the Rogue Valley umpires. "It's hard to even talk about it," he said. "You spend that many years at one school, it makes it hard to leave. But you realize life goes on." Steen is spearheading development of a major sports complex in Klamath Falls and will continue to teach baseball privately. At Klamath Union, he had a career record of 363-295 in 25 years as head coach and won state championships in 1979, '83 and '90. He coached six years at Waldport before joining the Pelicans. In the player voting, Sheldon was a returning first-teamer who got off to a slow start, then came up big the final weeks of the season. "Early in the year," said Roseburg coach Ron Goodell, "he was pressing too much and popping the ball up. We tried to get him to relax a little bit and concentrate on hitting the ball hard without trying to hit home runs." His grand slam on the final day of the regular season helped the Indians sweep South Medford and secure the No. 4 playoff berth. A week earlier, he had three hits in a win over Grants Pass, and the week before that, he had a clutch run-scoring double against Crater. Despite his offense, defense and leadership, Roseburg, the preseason choice to win the conference, finished three spots below that, while Ashland came in five spots higher than expected. "I don't know what's going on with that, I really don't," said Stover. "A guy goes 6-0 for a championship team, I would assume he'd get the majority of the votes. That's pretty hard to understand." With Allen getting six of the Grizzlies' 10 SOC wins, Stover said, "he could hit zero" and still deserve player-of-the-year selection. Coaches are excluded from voting for their own players. Ashland's other first-team picks were third baseman Titus Weston and first baseman Bill Rowe. Crater, North Medford and Roseburg also had three players each on the first team. Players, in addition to Sheldon, to make first team for the second time, were: South Medford pitcher Matt Skundrick, who was an outfield choice last year; Eagle Point catcher Ryan Garrett and North Medford outfielder Phil Ouellette. Rob Folsom, the North Medford catcher, made first team and was the lone freshman to receive votes. Reach sports editor Tim Trower at 776-4479, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.