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Mustangs open state play tonight By RANDY HAMMERICKSEN The Medford Mustangs will meet the North Valley Hurricanes of Salem today in the opening round of the American Legion baseball state playoffs. The game, the first of a best-of-three series, starts at 5 p.m. at Anhorn Field in Central Point. Casey Campbell, a pitcher from Crater High, will be the opening-game starter for the Mustangs (48-10). The Hurricanes finished third in the Area 5 tournament last week. "Anhorn is Casey's home field in high school, and I'm sure he will be comfortable with the mound and the surroundings," says Mustangs manager Sandee Kensinger. "I feel real confident about how this team can do in the playoffs." Medford won the Area 4 championship and advanced to the state playoffs as the league's top seed. Roseburg, the No. 2 Area 4 team, visits Cooke Stationery of Salem, No. 2 from Area 5, in the first round. Klamath Falls, the No. 3 team from Area 4, visits Area 5 champion Albany. All series are best-of-three. First-round winners advance to the eight-team state tournament, which begins next Wednesday at Swede Johnson Stadium in Eugene. Campbell takes a 4-3 record and a 2.21 ERA into today's opener. The Mustangs defeated North Valley in the Willamette Classic earlier this season. "They are a scrappy team, and they have some talent," says Kensinger. "But I feel real good about our draw." The Mustangs take a .408 team batting average into the playoffs. They have hit 66 home runs in 58 games, led by the 17 of Charlie Jensen. Jensen also has 74 runs batted in. Of the Mustangs' nine starters today, seven are batting over .400. Shortstop Nate Mayben leads the Mustangs in hitting with a .455 average, first first baseman Colby Gonzales is at .440, catcher Jason Brownell .425, third baseman Brent Foster .423, right fielder Jim Pickrel .435, center fielder Ken Halpin and Jarred Pagnini, who pitches and plays second base, are both hitting .409 and Jensen is hitting .375. Jensen leads the Mustangs with an .801 slugging percentage. Of his 66 hits, 36 are for extra bases. Mustangs general manager Don Schneider says keeping tabs on the team's offense can be a chore. The Mustangs' on-base percentage is .483. "With that and a team slugging percentage of .638, I stay busy keeping the book," he says. "The way it's gone, we've almost had a kid get on base darn near 50 percent of the time all season." After a hitting lull two weeks ago, when they lost seven of 10 games, the Mustangs have bounced back. "We don't have a weakness in our lineup, and most of the kids have picked it back up after a little lapse," says Kensinger. "I think all of them are pretty confident right now." Pagnini (9-1), a right-hander from North Medford High, will be the Mustangs' starting pitcher in Game 2 of the series on Friday at 7 p.m. at Chemeketa Community College in Salem. Tim Alvarez (8-0) will get the call if a third game is necessary. It is tentatively scheduled for 5 p.m. Saturday at Anhorn Field. Today's Sports Index Mail Tribune Copyright� The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, OR U.S.A.