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Baby Ruth Mail Tribune / Drew Fleming Thirteen-year-old Abe Eubank fouls off a pitch in a recent practice. Eubanks blasted a home run that landed on the South Medford High roof this past summer. He hit six home runs in 12 games. Thirteen-year-old joins Medford lore with mammoth home run By KEVIN GOFF C.J. Helman wasn't exactly thrilled to make legend status out of his friend Abe Eubank. But the right-handed pitcher was a non-willing participant nonetheless earlier this summer in a baseball game at South Medford High. "I talked to some people and they said they only knew of that happening twice," said Eubank's coach, Emil Donato, of the ball that landed halfway across the roof. "But I guarantee you those other two people weren't Abe's age." As impressive as the estimated 430-foot home run is, a distance even rare for Major Leaguer players, the more astounding number is Eubank's age. The 6-foot-1, 170-pound Babe Ruth slugger is just 13 and has yet to reach high school. His size helps explain the power, but the right-hander doesn't come to the plate thinking long ball. "I always just try to get base hits," says Eubank. "The home runs just come sometimes." Eubank now takes his home run prowess onto the 13-year-old Babe Ruth all-star squad. Eubank and the rest of the team begin the District 4 tournament today at 6 p.m. against host team Ashland at the North Mountain Park Complex. With nearly half of the Medford American 11-12-year-old Little League all-stars that made the trip to the West Regionals in San Bernadino, Calif., last year now on this team, success is expected. "Well, I expect us to do well," says all-star manager Tim George. "But you never know what kind of pitcher you could run into. I mean, we could see some guy that is just throwing junk and we can't touch him." While the pitching staff is expected to be solid at five or six players deep and Ben Koziol behind the plate, the bats should be Medford's strong suit. "I'm really impressed with their ability to hit the ball," says George. "Our strength definitely lies with our bats. "We have about six kids that can hit the ball out of the park." But none as consistently as Eubank. Of the 10 home runs belted in Medford Babe Ruth this season, Eubank swatted six of them in just 12 games. None was as daunting as the South Medford High shot, however. "I wasn't having my best game," says Helman, who is also on the all-star unit and has been friends with Eubank for a few years, "and I threw him a low and inside fastball. I knew it was gone right away. It just kept going up after he hit it." Homers are nothing new for Eubank. His mother, Laurie, held him out of his first potential year of tee-ball because she was afraid he'd hurt someone. And, in his first year of Little League at 9, the McLoughlin Middle schooler crushed an opposing pitchers' ego for the first time with his first homer. "I was pretty surprised when it went out," says Eubank of his first HR. "It felt good when I hit it, but I didn't know I could hit one." He hit five home runs in his final Little League season, but the real test would come at the Babe Ruth level when the fences moved farther away and the distance from the mound to home plate went from 45 to 60 feet. "It was kind of hard," says Eubank of the adjustment. "The distance was a lot different, but I am used to it now." The 14 and 15-year-old all-stars also begin competition this month. Jim Frings Jr. will manage the 15-year-old squad along with coach Jon Bell for their initial game today at 6 p.m. at North Mountain Park. The tournament runs through the weekend with the top two teams heading to the state tournament in Eagle Point. Frings Jr. heads a team that went undefeated through district and state tournament play last year as 14-year-olds. "The kids are really coming together," says Frings Jr. "Some of these guys are playing together for the first time, but I expect good things." Tall left-handed slugger Allen Smith leads a solid-hitting squad, while Tim Holtz and Kevin Salisbury will anchor the pitching staff. The 14-year-old team won't compete in a district tournament due to the low number of teams and will head straight to the state tournament in Grants Pass on July 26-29. Manager John Cheatum expects the same success the team achieved as 13-year-olds. "I expect them to win state," says Cheatum. "They took second last year and should have won it." The core group returns with pitchers Josh Suarez and Logan Boyd, who is also one of the top hitters on the team, highlighting the squad. Reach reporter Kevin Goff at 776-4483 or e-mail [email protected] . Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.