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Ashland Pilots pummel Roseburg, take Game 1 Mail Tribune / Drew Fleming Ashland's Tim Hegdahl tries to avoid Roseburg Pepsi's Grant Goodell (4) after Hegdahl turned a double play in the first inning ofThursday's game.The Pilots will travel to Roseburg today for Game 2 of the best-of-3series. The game begins at 7 p.m. By DON HUNT ASHLAND - There didn't seem to be much doubt that the Ashland Pilots were the superior team heading into Thursday's opening American Legion baseball playoff game with Roseburg Pepsi. There was even less doubt afterward. Bill Rowe fired a two-hitter through five innings and Titus Weston went 3-for-5 at the plate with three RBIs and two runs scored as the Pilots pummeled the visitors from Douglas County, 14-2, at North Mountain Park. The game, scheduled for nine innings, was stopped after seven due to the 10-run mercy rule. The second game in the best-of-three series will be played tonight at Roseburg's Legion Field beginning at 7 p.m. A third game, if needed, is set for 5 p.m. Saturday at North Mountain Park. Ashland went into Thursday's contest with a 25-2-1 record and the favorite's role, but the only playoff experience most of its players had came during a 4-0 loss to Gresham in the opening round of the high school baseball playoffs last May. "We got rid of our playoff jitters in May," said Rowe, who improved his summer record to 8-0. "We were a lot more relaxed today. We knew if we if played up to our ability level that we'd win." The Pilots wasted no time in showing who was boss. Rowe hit a two-run single and Mike Allen added an RBI single that got the hosts off to a 3-0 lead in the first inning. Allen then blasted a two-run double in the second as the Pilots scored five more runs, and Ryan Decker and Titus Weston each stroked RBI singles in the third as Ashland's lead ballooned to 10-0. Roseburg Pepsi finally managed its first hit and a couple of runs in the fourth, but couldn't muster any more offense off Rowe or Ashland reliever Nick Ehlers, who came off the bench to pitch two shutout innings. "We were overmatched," admitted Roseburg Pepsi coach Ron Goodell, whose team fell to 32-10 with the loss. "They're one of the best teams in the state at this level. Pitching, hitting, defense - they've got it all. "We're going to see if we can make them work a little harder (tonight), but we've got our work cut out." Weston helped put Roseburg Pepsi out its misery with a two-run triple to center field in the fifth that made it 12-2. Rowe and Torrance George added RBI singles for Ashland's final runs. Weston's 3-for-5 performance pushed his season batting average to .401. "This whole summer has been a blast, both for myself and the team," Weston said. "The caliber of pitching isn't as good as I saw during the high school season. I'm able to sit back and look for a certain pitch to hit." The Pilots will send right-hander Mike Allen to the mound tonight in an effort to close out the series and clinch a trip to the American Legion state tournament Aug. 8-13 at David Douglas High School in Portland. Allen has posted a not-so-impressive 2-2 record this summer - he has both of Ashland's losses - but has been victimized by bad luck, Pilots coach Josh Hamik said. "He pitched great during the high school season and he's done just fine with us," said Hamik, noting Allen's 1.52 earned run average. "He didn't get a couple of wins he should have and one of his losses was against a real good team (Fairfield, Calif.). We're not the least bit hesitant to hand him the ball." Roseburg Pepsi .................................. 000 200 0 - 2 2 6 Ashland Pilots................................ 352 040 x - 14 14 2 Major, Neyhart (5) and Baird; Rowe, Ehlers (6) and George. W - Rowe (8-0). L - Major (8-3). 2B - A: Allen, Hegdahl. 3B - A: Weston. Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.