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79 °F Forecast | Road Cams Friday, August 6, 2004 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics Tempo AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map SPECIAL SECTIONS Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Prime Times Wellness Connection Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Wedding Guide Rogue Valley's Finest EXTRA Newspaper in Education Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People MARKETPLACE Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Classifieds Place an ad eSouthernOregon Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar CUSTOMER SERVICE Frequent Questions Advertising Information Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Network Affiliate Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend June 11, 2004 Outfielder Ken Halpin is one of a handful of returning starters for the Southern Oregon RiverDogs this season. Mail Tribune / Roy Musitelli RiverDogs aim to make the cut again Southern Oregon amateur baseball program has improved its winning percentage every season since its debut in 2001 By KRIS HENRY Mail Tribune Mike Mayben finds himself in quite a quandary as the Southern Oregon RiverDogs amateur baseball season inches closer. For the first time in program history, the RiverDogs have entered the summer campaign with more hopefuls than roster spots — leaving the second-year manager to do what he likes least in order to finalize the roster. "It’s kind of a testament to the people who have put this program together, Jim McAbee and Steve Jensen and the entire RiverDogs committee," Mayben says of the 40 or so prospective players. "It’s been neat to have all these guys interested in coming back, but at the same time, it’s tough to whittle down to the 25-player maximum we can carry." McAbee and Jensen have been the RiverDogs’ two presidents since the program was founded in 2001, and the team has improved its winning percentage every year since its debut. Southern Oregon’s ability to keep that string of success going will be tested this summer with a more competitive schedule than in years past. Advertisement "We tried to make it a lot more competitive to give everyone something more to play for," says Mayben. "For all of us, even the coaches, just having that carrot out there sometimes is nice." Gone are some of the adult teams that have dotted the RiverDogs’ schedule in past years, and in their place are college-level squads like the Bandits and Spartans from Eugene and the Portland Wildcats. Holdover teams such as the Bend Elks and the Mt. Hood Cardinals are also on the schedule. "It’s nice to get our guys out there and get them against good Division I or II competition," says Mayben. "We’ve got quite a few guys who can play at that level." The RiverDogs return 12 players from last year’s squad that went 24-11 and enters Saturday’s season-opening doubleheader with the Eugene Bandits having won nine straight dating back to last season. Leading the pack of returners are outfielders Ken Halpin and Phil Ouellette, pitchers Matt Skundrick, Jesse Stevenson and John Jefferson and infielders Dan Bruce, Derrick Draper, Ryan Garrett and Eric Beasly. Halpin hit .345 for the RiverDogs last summer and has been a part of the team since its inception, while Ouellette led the team in batting at .392 last year. Skundrick was the team’s ace in his first season with the Dogs last summer and is coming off an all-star season at Lane Community College, where he and Ouellette helped lead the Titans to the Northwest Athletic Association of Community Colleges title. Skundrick was the league MVP. Jefferson, Garrett and Bruce each hit over .325 last summer for the Dogs, with Stevenson supplying stellar relief pitching. Although the roster is still in a state of flux, Mayben expects big things from newcomers Brett Timmerman, Ryan Heil, Blake St. Onge, Matt Smith, Ken Strate and the Mortenson brothers, Jeff and Jason, from Klamath Falls. "We lack a little bit in power this summer again, but we’re going to be a quick team," says Mayben. "We’ve got some guys who can make things happen out there, and we’ll move people around to take advantage of that." Southern Oregon currently has only seven home dates at Miles Field and another at the Grants Pass Sports Park. The schedule was made with the notion that the home ballpark would not be available due to ongoing plans for a Wal-Mart Supercenter on the site. But after the Medford City Council turned down Wal-Mart’s proposal for the Miles Field site on May 20, use of the field became an option and forced schedulers to alter their plans in the last couple weeks. "Miles Field kinda threw us for a loop," says Mayben. "I think everybody was that way. Trying to schedule without a home field was pretty tough, and then finding out a week and a half ago that we did have a home field changed everything." McAbee has been working the phone lines to get more games in Medford, with the potential of at least three open dates to be filled. "It’s been tough," McAbee says of the scheduling, which also has to revolve around American Legion use of the ballpark. "It’s hard to say how many games we’re going to have." So. Oregon RiverDogs Schedule June 12 Eugene Bandits (dh) 5 p.m. Miles June 13 Eugene Bandits (dh) 1 p.m. Miles June 18 Bend Elks (9) 5 p.m. Miles June 19 Redding Spirits (dh) 1 p.m. G. Pass June 20 Eugene Spartans (dh) 1 p.m. Eugene June 24 Portland Wildcats (9) 5 p.m. Miles June 25 Bend Elks (dh) 5 p.m. Bend June 26 Bend Elks (9) Noon Bend July 2-4 Rose City Tourney TBA Portland July 9 TBA TBA TBA July 10 TBA TBA TBA July 11 Siskiyou Suns (dh) 1 p.m. Miles July 16 Eugene Spartans (9) TBA Eugene July 17 Eugene Bandits (dh) TBA Eugene July 18 Albany (dh) TBA TBA July 23 TBA TBA TBA July 24 Eugene Spartans (dh) 4 p.m. Miles July 25 Albany (dh) 1 p.m. Miles July 30 Mt. Hood Cardinals TBA Gresham July 31 Mt. Hood Cardinals TBA Gresham Aug. 1 Mt. Hood Cardinals TBA Gresham Reach reporter Kris Henry at 776-4488, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2004 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. 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