Document text
67 °F Forecast | Road Cams Thursday, September 16, 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 How To Guide 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 19, 2004 Southern Oregon RiverDogs pitcher Matt Skundrick delivers while going the distance on Friday. Skundrick doesn’t give Bend a break By DON HUNT Mail Tribune Matt Skundrick deserved the lion’s share of the credit for the Southern Oregon RiverDogs’ 3-1 amateur baseball victory over the Bend Elks Friday night at Miles Field. Skundrick pitched the full nine innings while giving up eight hits, striking out six and walking four. But Skundrick got a huge assist from RiverDogs left fielder Derrick Draper, who made a spectacular running catch deep in the outfield that saved his team at least one run. Bend had a runner on first base and there were two out when Draper snagged Brandon Christianson’s deep fly ball on the dead run in the top of the sixth inning. He hit the left-field wall an instant after the catch but hung on for the out that ended the inning. "I knew the ball was going to be over my head and so I turned around, ran hard and put my glove out," said Draper, a former Grants Pass High standout who now plays for Oregon Tech. "I didn’t even think about the wall until after I hit it. I’m glad it’s padded." Advertisement What made Draper’s catch especially impressive was that Friday marked his first game ever in left field. The longtime middle infielder made the move to the outfield just this season. "I played two innings in right field last year, but other than that, I don’t think I’ve ever been out there," he said. Skundrick is thankful Draper was willing to make the transition. "That catch was the biggest play of the game," Skundrick said. "That was huge." The RiverDogs, now 5-0, scored all of their runs in the first inning when John Jefferson clubbed a two-run double to deep right center and, two batters later, Matt Smith followed with an RBI single. Jefferson, a Glide High graduate who now plays for Oregon Tech, is happy to be swinging a bat after spending most of the spring pitching for the Owls. His key double rolled to the outfield wall and scored Phil Ouellette, who had singled, and Ryan Heil, who had gotten hit by a pitch. "I got a fastball up and hit it hard," said Jefferson, who batted in the cleanup spot Friday. "I’m just starting to get my swing back." Bend (5-4) had chances to put together some big innings, but its only run came on a towering solo homer by Mike Wilhite to lead off the fifth. Skundrick walked the first two batters of the game but retired the next three to escape trouble. He encountered further adversity in the third when he yielded a single to Wilhite, a double to Dan Wetzell and then hit Matt Hibbits to load the bases with two outs. But Skundrick came through when he had to, getting Chris O’Brien to fly out to right to end the inning. Bend had at least one base runner in every inning and stranded 11 on the night. "I was overthrowing my fastball early in the game, and that got me into trouble," said Skundrick, who played at Lane Community College this spring and was named MVP of the Northwest Athletic Association of Community Colleges tournament. "And so I went to my breaking stuff. My slider was my out pitch and my change-up was real effective against their left-handed batters." Bend had one last chance to tie the game or take the lead in the ninth when Sean Kinney walked and Mike Terry got aboard on an infield single. But RiverDogs shortstop Blake St. Onge made a diving stop of a ground ball by Matt Hibbits and threw out Terry at second to end the game. Wilhite went 3-for-4 for Bend while Brett Timmerman and Smith had a pair of hits for Southern Oregon. The RiverDogs meet Redding at the All Sports Park in Grants Pass today for a 1 p.m. doubleheader. Bend..................................... 000 010 000 — 1 8 0 Southern Oregon.................300 000 00x — 3 7 1 Ring, Sammis (1), Monroe (8) and O’Brien; Skundrick and Smith. W — Skundrick (2-0). L — Ring. 2B — B: Wetzell; SO: Jefferson. HR — B: Wilhite. 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. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions Website Feedback ADVERTISERS A D V E R T I S E R S SPECIAL SECTIONS Auto Finder Job Finder Home Finder Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Tempo Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Moving to Southern Oregon? Volunteer Opportunities