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SUNNY Temp: 78 °F Wind: SSE at 5 mph Friday, August 1, 2003 SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map EXTRA HomeLife Magazine W3 Magazine Jobs @ Mail Tribune Tempo A & E Oregon CarZone Wellness Connection Real Estate Newspaper in Education Prime Times Outdoor Journal Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People CLASSIFIEDS Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Find Everything E SOUTHERN OREGON Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar ABOUT US FAQ What's New Advertise Home Delivery Classified Ad Contact Us Media Kit Email Story to a Friend July 20, 2003 Commentary Remarkable offense makes Mustangs an all-time hit By TIM PYLE Mail Tribune Records are falling, bats are pinging and balls are screaming wherever the American Legion AAA baseball Medford Mustangs go this summer. Bend? Give me 55 runs in four games covering two days against Bend and Mountain View. Mt. Bachelor’s never seen such a storm. Klamath Falls? Advertisement How about 20 runs and 26 hits ... in one — albeit nine-inning — affair. If only the Klamath Basin could keep water levels that high. Salem, anyone? The Mustangs ravaged the state capitol during the Willamette Classic in late June, shoving 44 runs down opponents’ throats in winning four straight for the tournament championship. Politicians quickly sugar-coated the display, the less their constituents need worry about scorching line drives ruining their days. But, of course, there is no place like home. In 23 games at Miles Field heading into today’s home doubleheader against Emerald Valley of Springfield at 1 p.m., Medford (42-7, 12-4 Area 4) has posted 10 or more runs on the Harry and David scoreboard 14 times. The Mustangs average 10.1 runs and 13 hits per home contest and 9.8 runs and 12.7 knocks overall. Opposing pitchers can do little more than duck and pray for rain. "One through nine, we don’t have an easy out," says Medford shortstop Evan McArthur. "I guess it’s just clicking." Yeah, I’d say so. With a .408 team batting average entering today, the Mustangs are on pace to break the 1997 squad’s record of a .407 clip for the season. Through 49 games a year ago — when Medford won the state and regional championships, mind you — the Mustangs had scored 435 runs. This year? Try 481, or almost a run more per contest. And then there are the individual statistics. You may need to sit down for these. Pitcher/third baseman Mike Allen’s .513 batting average tops the team and four other Medford marauders who are batting .416 or better. Jordan Stevens’ .519 average in 1983 is the Mustangs’ season-best. As cleanup hitter, Allen — who has been so hot he singled and doubled on pitches on which he broke separate aluminum bats in a July 8 doubleheader against Eugene — owns 63 RBIs and 66 runs scored this season. "I feel like as I get older, I’m coming into my body a little bit, filling out a little bit," says Allen, a 6-foot-4, 205-pounder who enjoyed a fine freshman campaign at Willamette University this year after a standout prep career at Ashland. "I have never felt better at the plate. I’m just feeling real good and just glad to be a part of the team, because there are so many guys that are so talented." A couple of fourth-year Mustangs are about as talented as they come, and it’s showing among Medford’s career records. McArthur and catcher Rob Folsom now sit first and second all-time in career hits for the Mustangs, with McArthur up to 302 and Folsom at 257. Before this summer, Alex Chavez, who played from 1995-’97, held the high mark at 254. The 6-2, 190-pound McArthur has also become the career record-holder in RBIs (209), runs scored (211) and doubles (76). This summer, he is batting .489 with 79 RBIs, the latter of which ties him for the fifth-best single-season total. Jordan Stevens (’83) and Shawn Walker (’97) both knocked in 86 runs in a season. "We’ve had some good shortstops," says manager Sandee Kensinger, a Medford coach since 1990. "But (McArthur) is a head above everybody else. Both defensively and offensively, he gets the job done." Fresh off a spring in which he was named Eastern Arizona Junior College’s athlete of the year as a freshman, McArthur has been a run-producing monster in the Mustangs’ No. 3 hole. "It’s all a continuation," says McArthur, who hit .407 for the Gila Monsters and boasts team-highs of 70 runs scored, nine home runs, six triples and, along with Allen, 23 doubles this summer. "I’m still pretty lanky, but I’ve filled out a little and learned how to use my body." Folsom, hitting .491 out of the leadoff spot, ranks third in career runs (192) and doubles (44). With a year of high school still remaining, the 5-8, 175-pound Folsom also has another season of playing with the Mustangs to challenge McArthur’s marks. "His first at-bat as a Mustang, he was 14-years-old, he was still playing Babe Ruth and we brought him in for a couple of games," says Don Schneider, the 19-year general manager. "In his first at-bat, we put him in with the bases loaded, and he doubled to the left-field corner to drive in three runs. "All the records Evan has set, he’s probably gonna break, except the RBIs, because he’s been a leadoff hitter all of his years here." Allen, McArthur and Folsom all seem to possess the combination of talent and drive that it takes to succeed in the professional ranks. And they’re far from alone in making the Medford batting order a fantasy baseball owner’s dream. Regulars like first baseman Dustin Butler (.424 average, 44 RBIs), right fielder Jim Ulrey (.395, seven homers, 44 RBIs), second baseman Ryan Heil (.391, 60 runs), center fielder Reese Lamson (.304, 13 steals), left fielder Corey O’Neill (.392) and pitcher/first baseman Chad Hegdahl (.416) are outstanding hitters in their own rights. Plenty of more firepower is available off the bench, so the Mustangs are never short on prime run-producers. "That’s how teams that are successful survive," Kensinger says of his club’s depth, both in the order and overall. "Someone else might have a bad day one day, and somebody else picks ‘em up." Schneider and Kensinger are hesitant to anoint this Mustangs edition as tremendous offensively as the ’97 team that finished second in the American Legion AAA World Series. But if the beat continues to go on well after July 31 — when the postseason begins and Medford starts its push toward back-to-back state crowns for the first time since the three straight of ’91-’93 — there may be no denying the ’03 Mustangs their due. There’s already no avoiding awe, whether watching them in person or marveling at their box scores. Reach reporter Tim Pyle at 776-4483 or e-mail [email protected] Printer Friendly Version Email Story to a Friend Subscribe Archive: Click to Search Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2003 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. 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