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Grizzlies stir up SOC photo by Drew Fleming Improved Ashland gains a twin bill split with Tornado By Don Hunt It�s a little too early to determine much of anything in the Southern Oregon Conference baseball race. But a couple of trends are beginning to develop. First, there doesn�t appear to be any dominant teams like there were last season when North Medford won the conference title and Crater won the state championship, with the Black Tornado the state runner-up. And secondly, the Ashland Grizzlies might be the most improved team in the SOC. Mike Allen scattered seven hits, struck out five and didn�t walk a batter in leading the Grizzlies to a 3-2 victory over North Medford in the second game of a doubleheader at Miles Field on Tuesday. Brent Kircher was even more impressive in the opening game for North Medford (8-4). The junior left-hander held Ashland to two hits in an 11-1 Tornado victory that went six innings due to the 10-run rule. The split left North Medford at 3-1 in conference play and Ashland at 9-5 overall and 2-2 in the SOC. But the Grizzlies have ample reason to be optimistic considering they�ve emerged from their first two SOC twin bills with a .500 record against a couple of opponents � Roseburg and North � that were picked to go 1-2 in a preseason poll of the coaches. "We took our lumps last year, but these kids feel like they can compete with any team in this conference and they�re going out and proving it," said Ashland coach Doug Stover. "To win the second game today after getting hammered in the first � I think that says a lot about how our kids battle." Allen fueled the Grizzly victory, and not just with his arm. The 6-foot-4, 190-pound junior right-hander delivered a two-run double that capped a three-run second inning for what proved to be the winning hit. "After getting our butts kicked in the first game it really felt good to win the second one," said Allen, who kept the Tornado off-balance with his fastball, curveball and a nasty change-up. "The attitude on this team is a lot different this year. We�re playing with a lot more confidence." Ashland scored all the runs it would need in the top of the second. Charles Dotterrer doubled, moved to third on a wild pitch and scored on Ryan Decker�s sacrifice fly for the first run. Consecutive singles by Chase Cook, Arin Rouse and Titus Weston then loaded the bases for Allen, and he helped his cause immensely by cracking a double to right that scored Cook and Rouse for a 3-0 Grizzly lead. North Medford finally broke the scoring ice in the sixth when Phil Ouellette singled and, one out later, raced home on a double by Evan McArthur. McArthur then took third on Shawn Backstrom�s groundout and scored on an infield single by Devon Zupan to make it 3-2. But Allen escaped further trouble by inducing losing pitcher Dustin Butler to ground out, then setting down the side in order in the seventh. Rouse, the Grizzlies� leadoff hitter, went 3-for-4 with a double and scored a run in the second game, while Weston, Dotterrer and Decker added two hits apiece. In the first game, Joe Morris� RBI fielder�s choice groundout, an RBI double by Ouellette and Rob Folsom�s two-run single gave North Medford a 4-0 lead in the bottom of the second inning. The Grizzlies managed a run in the top of the third, but North Medford blew open the game with a six-run fourth. Butler, Ouellette, Folsom and Backstrom all had singles in the inning and Brian Weeks and Zupan produced doubles. Folsom, the Tornado�s freshman catcher, went 3-for-4 with three RBIs, two runs and a stolen base in the first game. Kircher struck out only two but walked just one and allowed only four base runners in his six innings of work. "I was able to spot my fastball and curveball equally well," said Kircher, who ran his record to 4-0 and is now 15-3 over the past two seasons. North Medford coach Brett Wolfe said his team lacked the intensity it needs during the first half of the second game. "We won that first one pretty handily and then came out flat," he said. "Give their kid (Allen) credit, he pitched a heck of a game, but we�re not the kind of team that can coast along and beat people. "We took too many pitches, got behind in the count and that put us in a defensive position at the plate." The Tornado meets cross-town rival South Medford in a noon doubleheader Saturday at Miles Field. The Panthers are the only unbeaten team remaining in the SOC just four games into the campaign. "This league is wide open," Wolfe said. And for the first time since 1993, when the Grizzlies last made the playoffs, they figure they�re in the middle of the hunt. FIRST GAME Ashland............................................. 001 000 � 1 2 1 North Medford................................... 040 601 � 11 13 0 Ehlers, Schroeder (5) and George; Kircher and Folsom. W � Kircher (4-0). L � Ehlers. 2B � A: George; NM � Ouellette, Zupan, Weeks. SECOND GAME Ashland..............................................030 000 0 � 3 11 1 North Medford ....................................000 002 0 � 2 7 0 Allen and Cook, George (7); Butler and Folsom. W � Allen (2-1). L � Butler (2-2). 2B � A: Allen; NM: McArthur. Reach reporter Don Hunt at 776-4469, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.