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51 °F Forecast | Road Cams Saturday, May 7, 2005 Today's News | Shop Our Valley | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery | Contact Us SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion Tempo AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map SPECIAL SECTIONS Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Menu Guide How To Guide Health Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Real Estate Guide Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Wedding Guide Passport to the Rogue Valley SHOP OUR VALLEY AutoFinder HomeFinder JobFinder Classified Place an ad TOP JOBS EXTRA Ashland News NIE Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People Volunteer Moving here? eSouthernOregon CUSTOMER SERVICE FAQ's Advertise with us Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend March 31, 2005 North Medford�s Cole Rohrbough walks back to the mound after giving up a home run to Roseburg�s Dusty Brigham in the first inning. Mail Tribune / Roy Musitelli Miscues doom Tornado Roseburg keeps error-proned North at bay in SOC opener By KRIS HENRY Mail Tribune Like a banjo player at a hip hop concert, North Medford’s baseball team simply couldn’t find the right rhythm Wednesday in its Southern Oregon Conference opener. The Black Tornado had almost as many errors (six) as it had hits (eight) and wasn’t afforded much of a break by Roseburg as the Indians steadily kept their hosts at bay for an 11-7 triumph at North Medford High. "We did not play our best ballgame," said North coach Brett Wolfe, "and you can’t do that against teams that are fundamentally sound. The difference in the game is that we gave them extra outs." Four of North’s errors directly led to four runs for the Indians, who didn’t really need the help since they belted out three solo home runs and had 10 hits overall. Advertisement Roseburg (3-2, 1-0 SOC) used an aggressive approach at the plate and on the basepaths to post multiple runs in all but two innings. "That’s a tribute to our kids," said Roseburg coach Troy Thompson. "That’s how we want to play the game. We want to be aggressive against everybody we play." The Indians put that game plan in motion early, with Aaron Buxton and Dusty Brigham blasting carbon copy home runs to left field against North starter Cole Rohrbough in the first inning. Brigham finished a perfect 3-for-3 with four runs and three RBIs to pace Roseburg, while Buxton was 2-for-3 with four runs and two RBIs. "Those kids did a good job at the plate," said Thompson. "They got pitches they could handle and didn’t try to do too much with them. They just put some good swings on the ball." Thanks to the hustle of Matt Schmelzer, the Black Tornado (5-1, 0-1) battled back in the second to tie the game at 2-all. Zack James led off the inning with a single and, one out later, stole second. Roseburg starter Blake Keitzman then got Schmelzer to strike out on a sweeping curve, but the ball in the dirt eluded catcher Brian Benson and his throw to nab a speeding Schmelzer pulled first baseman Tyler Bentley off the bag. Instead of two outs and a runner on second, North found itself in prime position with only one out and two runners on for catcher Darren Bruhns. A little shaken by the turn of events, Keitzman then walked Bruhns to load the bases. He regrouped for one of his 14 strikeouts — the Indians fanned 16 total in the game — but walked Kyle Williamson and Tony Salamone on five pitches each to bring in the tying runs. But just as soon as the momentum was on North’s side, Roseburg took it away with a leadoff home run by Mitchell Nelson in the third and an RBI single by Bentley after Rohrbough allowed three straight walks. North trimmed its deficit with a run in the fourth when Dustin Shipley’s bunt was fielded by Keitzman but thrown into right field. After a groundout moved Shipley to third, Salamone drove in his second run of the game with a single to right field. Errors came into play for North in the fifth, with Buxton scoring all the way from first on a Brigham single when Logan Odom had trouble securing the hot roller to right field. Odom, who began the game as designated hitter, had entered the outfield only one inning earlier when Josh Suarez took over for Rohrbough. Brigham, who took second on the late throw home, scored moments later when Suarez’s pickoff attempt sailed into center field and the all-state shortstop never broke stride in rounding third and heading home. "That’s baseball," said Wolfe. "Not one kid intentionally made an error today. Baseball can just make you look silly sometimes, that’s why it’s a great game. You’ve got to compete against the game because you just never know what can happen." That 6-3 lead ballooned to 9-3 in the sixth as Roseburg used a two-out, two-run double by Brigham and another North error to cushion its lead. It appeared as if the Tornado might have been able to get by with allowing only one run instead of three thanks to a pinpoint throw home by Odom and block of the plate by Bruhns, but it was ruled Buxton was able to slide his left hand over the plate prior to a collision at home. Odom then came on in relief of Suarez and induced a pop fly near second base that Williamson camped under but never got a glove on to allow Brigham to score from second. North clawed back with two runs in the bottom of the sixth thanks to a leadoff double by Bruhns, who went 2-for-3 with two runs, and a two-run triple by Abe Eubank that also plated Salamone. Roseburg pushed its lead back up to 11-5 as Nelson was hit by a pitch with two outs in the seventh, stole second and then scored on a single by Buxton, who took second on the relay home. After an intentional walk to Brigham, Odom had Buxton picked off attempting to steal third but his throw was dropped by Shipley to allow both runners to advance. Quentin Clark followed with an RBI chopper to shortstop. Against Roseburg reliever Alex Cook in the seventh, Schmelzer reached safely on a bunt single and scored on a triple by Bruhns. Brigham’s relay throw to Eric Thompson at third got loose on the play and allowed Bruhns to cross home plate as well to cap the scoring in a game North chalked up as a "learning experience." "I think this group right here will bounce back very well," says Wolfe. "We have a great group of kids with tremendous character. Even though we lost, I’m proud of what they’re doing on the field. We’ll work hard and be back up and ready for Eagle Point on Saturday." Roseburg...........................202 023 2 — 11 10 1 North Medford..................020 102 2 — 7 8 6 Keitzman, Cook (7) and Benson; Rohrbough, Suarez (4), Odom (6) and Bruhns. W — Keitzman (2-1). L — Rohrbough (2-1). 2B — R: Brigham; NM: Bruhns. 3B — NM: Eubank, Bruhns. HR — R: Buxton, Brigham, Nelson. Reach reporter Kris Henry at 776-4488, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life | Opinion AP News | Archives | Site Map | Community | Classified Copyright © 1997-2005 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. 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