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Ouellette shines in sweep Mail Tribune/Alex Szlachtianshyn Medford shortstop Evan McArthur (6) tags second to force out Eugene's Cody Newell (10) while turning a crucial double play in the sixth inning of the Mustangs' triumph Wednesday at Miles Field. By KRIS HENRY Big players are made for big games. At 5-foot-6, Phil Ouellette doesn't necessarily have the stature to fit that billing, but he more than qualifies in terms of talent. Ouellette's clutch play was on display Wednesday night at Miles Field as the center fielder drove in three runs to spark the Medford Mustangs to a 6-4 win over the Eugene Challengers in Game 1 of a doubleheader. Medford (32-16, 13-9 Area 4) swept away Eugene with a dramatic 12-9 triumph in Game 2 to keep its playoff hopes alive. In the nightcap, the Mustangs scored six runs in their final at-bat, including a three-run walkoff homer by Tony Conklin. The Mustangs can stake their claim to the third and final Area 4 playoff spot tonight when they play host to the Bay Area Rams of Coos Bay. The Rams enter tonight in third place with a 14-6 league record, but a sweep by the Mustangs would put Bay Area into must-win status when it closes the regular season against first-place Roseburg (16-2) on Sunday. Klamath Falls is in second place at 15-5. Taking advantage of a lackluster Mustang effort out of the gate, Eugene (32-25, 9-13 Area 4) jumped on starter Chris Empio with four runs in the first inning. Struggling to find his rhythm, Empio hit two of the first four batters he faced. After an error by second baseman Matt Skundrick kept the inning alive with one run already in, the Challengers used back-to-back doubles by Mark Wolf and Kyle Boettger to take a 4-0 lead. Despite picking up two outs to start the second, Medford rallied behind a walk to Matt Smith and a booming double by Tyler Engle to put runners on second and third. With the spotlight on Ouellette to jumpstart Medford's attack, the former North Medford High star rose to the challenge. Down to his last strike, Ouellette patiently fought off two pitches by Eugene starter Dane Butler before delivering a two-run single to right field. Rob Folsom followed with an RBI single to cut the Mustang deficit to 4-3. As simple as Ouellette's effort may have seemed to some, it provided a much-needed burst of confidence for Empio. "That was huge," Empio said. "Without that I might not have even finished the game the way I was feeling. It was nice to have the momentum of having something go our way. When I see my players come through like that, it really pumps me up." Empio went out and retired Eugene with five pitches in the third, only to have Butler do the same to Medford. After Skundrick lifted Medford's hopes with a leadoff triple in the fourth, two straight strikeouts left the Mustangs' best chance of tying the game in Ouellette's hands. Once again he delivered. "All we needed was a ball put anywhere in play, but it took Phil to do it," said Empio. "This whole year he's been clutch. He at least gets the bat on the ball and makes something happen." Ouellette didn't make it easy on himself, however, as he slipped behind in the count before smacking his third single of the night. "I've been in those situations before," he said. "I'm not thinking about how many outs there are or what the situation is, I'm just trying to do my job by getting on base and helping us score some runs. "I hung tough after being down 0-2, and they finally made a mistake over the plate, and I made them pay for it." Despite his .362 batting average heading into the night, Ouellette said he had been struggling at the plate until a little homework put him in the right frame of mind. "I would get little hits here and there, but I wasn't hitting it very hard and I wasn't confident with my swing," said Ouellette. With the help of a batting tee at home and a mirror to monitor his swing, Ouellette said he came out to Miles Field much more confident on Wednesday. "I tried to get something put together that looked good and felt good," he said. "Now my swing feels good and I hope I'm back on track." After his early struggles, Empio regained his form and held Eugene to two hits over the final five innings. Both hits were negated, however, as the Mustangs turned double plays behind the slick play of Skundrick and shortstop Evan McArthur. "I knew we weren't going to get three runs and quit," said Empio. "I knew that if I could just keep it there then we would keep adding runs." Travis Dunlap scored the game-winner in the fifth after reaching second on two Eugene errors and eventually scoring on a fielder's choice. Smith added an RBI double to cap the scoring. FIRST GAME Eugene Challengers...........................400 000 0 - 4 5 3 Medford Mustangs.............................030 120 x - 6 12 2 Butler, Mascolo (5) and Wolf, R. Smith (6); Empio and Folsom. W - Empio (8-3). L - Butler (2-7). 2B - E: Wolf, Boettger; M: Engle, M. Smith. 3B - M: Skundrick. SECOND GAME Eugene Challengers.........................020 016 0 - 9 10 2 Medford Mustangs...........................221 001 6 - 12 15 3 Newell, Boettger (5), Bird (6) and R. Smith; Dunlap, Kircher (6), Conklin (6), McArthur (7) and Folsom. W - McArthur (2-1). L - Bird. 2B - E: Moran; M: Backstrom, Skundrick, M. Smith. HR - M: Dunlap (10), Conklin (4). Reach reporter Kris Henry at 776-4488, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.