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Miller stays hot, ‘Stangs sweep final twin bill By Danny Penza Updated: Jul 20, 2022 09:59 PM A A 5 View all photos When your coaches struggle to remember how many hits you’ve had over the last couple of weeks, it usually means one of two things. Either you’re in a rut, or you’re so hot it seems like every game is a multi-hit outing. For Medford Mustangs third baseman Jace Miller, the latter is most definitely the case these days. Miller knocked in his team’s first two runs in what was a 16-run bottom of the first in Game 1 of Wednesday afternoon’s doubleheader at Lithia & Driveway Fields and then finished a single short of the cycle in Game 2 as the Mustangs recorded 16-1 and 8-5 wins over Redding Filthy Kleen to wrap up regular-season play. “The last few weeks his approach at the plate has been fantastic,” said Mustangs manager Nate Mayben of Miller, an all-state honorable mention selection at South Medford this past spring. “He’s just been keeping his swing really simple and getting the barrel to the baseball real nice and short, getting through it and he’s just seeing the ball so well. Everything he hits seems to be finding the hole. He’s been huge for us — especially in that Eugene series and just coming up clutch for us time after time. “He’s pretty hot right now. I haven’t seen too many guys get this hot before and hopefully he continues that.” With the situation being what it was in the opener, Mayben essentially gave most of his starters the rest of Game 1 off after their 16-run outburst that saw a total of 19 batters come to the plate as the Mustangs batted around twice before the inning was over. Miller’s lone hit was a two-run single to give Medford (32-7) a 2-0 lead before they broke the game wide open not very long after. He was one of three Mustangs to record three RBIs in the opener along with Johnny King and Triston Wallace. King and Wallace both had two hits. In Game 2, Miller finished 3-for-4 with a double, triple, home run, four RBIs and three runs, with his four hits in his five at-bats Wednesday pushing his average to .518 this summer. On top of taking his team-leading batting average into the American Legion AAA state tournament this weekend, Miller also leads the Mustangs in RBIs (46), hits (59) and doubles (16). “He’s just keeping things simple,” said Mayben of Miller, who hit .356 during his senior season at South. “He’s not coming out of his shoes and trying to do stuff that he can’t do. He’s not trying to swing too hard and just putting solid swings on the baseball. The biggest thing is that his pitch selection has been great. He’s not chasing balls out of the zone, he’s not getting himself into a bad count and he’s attacking fastballs. All of that stuff combined and he’s just doing it really well.” Miller’s home run, his second of the season, was one of three by a Mustang on the day. Wallace homered in Game 1, while Cameron Sewell hit his team-leading fifth homer of the season in Game 2, giving the Mustangs’ No. 2 hitter three homers in the last two weeks. Sewell went a combined 3-for-4 with a triple, home run, four RBIs and scored three runs in the doubleheader, while Tanner Douglas was 1-for-1 with a pair of runs in Game 1. Mustangs leadoff man Cody Borraggine scored three runs in the doubleheader, pushing his total to a team-high 57 this season. “The top four hitters are tough, real tough,” said Mayben of Borraggine, Sewell, Douglas and Miller. “If you’re going to get them out, you’re going to have to work for it, too. They’re making guys throw a lot of pitches, they’re doing a good job of being disciplined at the plate and not very often do you see three lefties 1-2-3 in the lineup. They’re just grinders at the plate and do a good job of putting the ball in play hard. Then having Jace follow them up, he’s been cleaning up a lot of RBIs in the 4-hole. “It’s been nice, it’s been nice, but we have to keep it going. Now is when it matters.” Aiden Horsley, who recently returned to action, had a pair of RBIs in Game 2 for the Mustangs, who won five straight games after falling in the opener of Saturday’s doubleheader against the Eugene Challengers. Mustangs pitcher Beau Aldrich allowed two hits and an unearned run in his five-inning complete game, striking out five without issuing a walk. Aldrich, who improved his record to 5-2 on the season, closed his outing strong by retiring the final six batters he faced after Redding scored its lone run of the game. Bolstad also went five innings, scattering eight hits and two runs while striking out five and walking two batters. King and Frankie Rutigliano closed out Game 2 with an inning in relief apiece. “Really liked what we saw from Beau and Julius both today,” said Mayben. “They were attacking in the zone and obviously having a 16-run lead helps you, but Beau did a great job of mixing it up, too. They were good hitters and it was really nice to see that nice five-inning outing from Beau — he hasn’t thrown a ton of innings lately, so to see that from him going into the state tournament gives me a lot of confidence in him. “Same thing with Julius — just solid, a lot of strikes and just competing in the zone.” The Mustangs open play at the state tournament in Roseburg on Saturday at 1 p.m. against the winner of a play-in game between the Beaverton Sockeyes and Corvallis Gerding Builders Marketmen. “Now is the time for us,” said Mayben. “We grind through the whole summer, we put together a lot of games and try to build some good team chemistry. Now it’s time for them to lock in and go have some fun.” FIRST GAME Redding Filthy Kleen 001 00 — 1 2 4 Medford Mustangs (16)00 0x — 16 10 2 Tibbets, Cauldwell (2) and Brandon; Aldrich and Wallace. W — Aldrich. L — Tibbets. 2B — M: King. HR — M: Wallace. SECOND GAME Redding Filthy Kleen 110 000 3 — 5 11 0 Medford Mustangs 211 400 x — 8 9 1 Cauldwell, Canfield (3), Tibbets (5) and Brandon; Bolstad, King (6), Rutigliano (7) and Wallace. W — Bolstad. L — Cauldwell. 2B — R: Maria, Brimhall, Brandon; M: Miller, Horsley. 3B — M: Miller, Sewell. HR — M: Miller, Sewell. Reach reporter Danny Penza at 541-776-4469 or [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @penzatopaper. Andy Atkinson / Mail TribuneMedford Mustangs’ Jace Miller connects for a base hit during Game 1 against Redding Filthy Kleen at Lithia & Driveway Fields in Medford Wednesday. Andy Atkinson / Mail TribuneMedford Mustangs Jeremiah Robbins (8) high-fives teammates Cameron Sewell (right) and Cody Borraggine after scoring during Game 1 against Redding Filthy Kleen at Lithia & Driveway Fields in Medford Wednesday. Andy Atkinson / Mail TribuneMedford Mustangs’ Cody Borraggine connects for a base hit during Game 1 against Redding Filthy Kleen at Lithia & Driveway Fields in Medford Wednesday. Andy Atkinson / Mail TribuneMedford Mustangs’ Triston Wallace connects for a base hit during Game 1 against Redding Filthy Kleen at Lithia & Driveway Fields in Medford Wednesday. Andy Atkinson / Mail TribuneMedford Mustangs’ Cody Borraggine high-fives teammate Aiden Horsley after scoring during Game 1 against Redding Filthy Kleen at Lithia & Driveway Fields in Medford Wednesday.