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CLEAR Temp: 51 °F Wind: CLM at 0 mph Monday, August 5, 2002 SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map EXTRA Cyberchef E The People Golf Job Network Headbone Zone Wellness Connection Movie Times Newspaper in Education Oregon CarZone Outdoor Journal Personals Prime Times Real Estate Tempo A & E TV Times W3 Magazine CLASSIFIEDS Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Find Everything E SOUTHERN OREGON Destinations Automotive Communities Employment Entertainment Publications Real Estate Recreation Shopping Calendar ABOUT US FAQ What's New Advertise Home Delivery Classified Ad Contact Us Media Kit Jobs @ Mail Tribune Email Story to a Friend July 28, 2002 Medford catcher Rob Folsom holds up the baseball after attempting to tag out Eugene�s David Fox in the first game of Saturday�s doubleheader. Mail Tribune / Andrew Mariman Mustangs can’t quite rise to the challenge The Eugene Challengers claim their first Area 4 championship since 1985 By KRIS HENRY Mail Tribune The same bats which have created quite a ruckus for the Medford Mustangs this summer were somewhat silenced Saturday afternoon, but not before the Mustangs could post an Area 4 split against the Eugene Challengers. Riding a 2-for-3 effort with two RBIs by Brett Timmerman, the Mustangs scored a 6-3 victory over the Challengers in Game 1 of Saturday’s American Legion AAA doubleheader. Timmerman wasn’t quite as lucky in the nightcap, with the left-hander stung for his first loss of the summer as Eugene (46-12-2, 19-3 Area 4) used a three-run fourth inning to pull away for a 7-1 win in Game 2. The Mustangs (36-10, 16-6 Area 4) were held under 10 hits in Game 1 for the first time in 11 games, and escaped their first shutout in Game 2 thanks to Dustin Butler’s home run in the bottom of the seventh. "We pounded it but we were hitting it right to them all day," said Butler, whose blast was one of only six hits allowed by Eugene starter Sean Mascolo. "I was seeing the ball really good today and just finally came through (in the seventh)." Seeing the ball was easy against Mascolo. Doing something with it, however, was another story. "He was spotting his pitches and getting us a little antsy," said Butler. "We’d get ahead of him and then he’d spot his pitch and we’d get an out." That type of outing was nothing new for Mascolo, who improved to 10-0 and became the only pitcher to have beaten the Mustangs twice this summer. His other victory was a 6-1 gem in Eugene. "(Mascolo) has been doing a nice job all year," said third-year Mustangs manager Brent Watts. "He’s been doing that to all the teams, and that’s also a good defensive team we played today." Eugene’s defense came up big in the bottom of the fifth after Mascolo gave up back-to-back singles to Matt Smith and Tyler Engle to open the inning. Looking for his second hit of the game after extending his streak to 14 straight games, Rob Folsom, instead, blistered a shot to shortstop A.J. Norris that was pitched to second baseman Travis Nance and turned into a double play. Mascolo then halted the threat with a strikeout of Ryan Heil, who had his hitting streak snapped at 12 games. "That’s a momentum changer whenever you can get two outs with one pitch," Watts said of the pivotal double play. "If that ball is a fraction to the left or right, the shortstop probably doesn’t get that ball and then we’ve got the bases loaded with our No. 2 hitter up." The holes Medford had trouble finding were routinely hit by Eugene’s players as the Challengers used three straight two-out singles to put their first run on the board in the third. Timmerman had sent away eight straight batters following a game-opening single by Norris before the shortstop struck again to start the rally. Kellen Hobie followed with another shot up the middle, and then David Fox drove Norris home with a single to right field. The surge was quickly halted, however, when Hobie overran third base and was tagged out following a good relay from right fielder Jimmy Ulrey to second baseman Heil and finally to third baseman Matt Skundrick. Zach Bird added a two-run single in the fourth and Casey Nagler had an RBI single as Eugene closed the book on Timmerman with three runs and four hits in the stanza. The Challengers, who secured their first Area 4 title since 1985 with the split, tacked on a two-run triple by Hobie in the sixth off Eric Kessler. Eugene scored its final run of Game 2 when Scott Nelson singled and made his way home thanks to a sacrifice fly and two wild pitches by Brent Kircher. Brady Rhodes and Brett Goble combined on a four-hitter for the Mustangs in Game 1. Evan McArthur and Timmerman each drove in a run to give Medford a 2-0 lead after the first, only to have Eugene counter with three unearned runs in the third off two Medford errors and a two-run double by Nelson. The Mustangs struck back against Nelson with an RBI single by McArthur and RBI doubles from Skundrick and Timmerman. The second-place Mustangs close out the Area 4 season Monday with a doubleheader at Roseburg’s Dr. Stewarts. Both games will be vital for a Roseburg team looking to lock up the No. 2 seed out of Area 4. Roseburg is 12-8 in league, followed by the Grants Pass Nuggets (13-9) and Klamath Falls Falcons (10-10). Three Area 4 teams advance to the state playoffs beginning Thursday. The Mustangs’ league placement doesn’t count for playoff standings since Medford is automatically into the state tournament by virtue of hosting the event. "(The automatic bid) wasn’t something we’ve taken as we can do whatever we want, whenever we want," said Watts. "We still got after it and the guys have played hard. That’s all we’ve been trying to do, play hard every game." Medford will play a non-conference game against the North Jackson Royals at 6 p.m. Wednesday in Eagle Point before settling in for their opening game of the American Legion AAA state tournament at 7:30 p.m. Aug. 7 at Miles Field. FIRST GAME Eugene....................................003 000 0 — 3 4 2 Medford..................................203 001 x — 6 9 2 Nelson and Fox; Rhodes, Goble (5) and Folsom. W — Rhodes (8-1). L — Nelson (6-3). S — Goble (8). 2B — E: Nelson; M: Heil, Skundrick, Timmerman, Ulrey. SECOND GAME Eugene..................................001 302 1 — 7 13 1 Medford..................................000 000 1 — 1 6 0 Mascolo and Fox; Timmerman, Kessler (5), Kircher (7) and Folsom. W — Mascolo (10-0). L — Timmerman (4-1). 2B — E: Boettger; M: Skundrick. 3B — E: Hobie. HR — M: Butler (5). Reach reporter Kris Henry at 776-4488, or e-mail [email protected] Printer Friendly Version Email Story to a Friend Subscribe Archive: Click to Search M Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright 1997-2002 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy web master feedback A D V E R T I S E R S