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Ashland scheme throws a curve to the rest of SOC Sometimes a linescore from a baseball game can put you into the minds of a coach and his team more than any written recap can provide. That's the case in Ashland, where fourth-year head coach Doug Stover has put a new spin on the grand ol' game. For Stover, sometimes your No. 1 pitcher is your No. 2 ... and vice versa. That's the approach the Grizzlies are taking for the second straight year under Stover, with right-handed ace Mike Allen getting the call in the second game of doubleheaders instead of the more conventional first-game nod. "If you want to throw your ace against my ace, you're going to have to throw him in the second game," warns Stover. And now it's just a waiting game to see who bites. "It seems like you're just setting your team up for a split," says 26th-year Eagle Point coach Tom Britton, who adds he's rarely seen Stover's strategy outside road games when a split is foremost on a coach's mind. "But the thing about it is that nobody knows their team better than the coaches. I'm sure he's setting his team up where he has the best chance of winning." The numbers have certainly played out that way. Ashland earned its first-ever Southern Oregon Conference title last season after posting a 10-4 league mark. The Grizzlies are already off on the right foot this season with a 2-0 SOC ledger heading into today's doubleheader with North Medford. Stover just asks that he not be pegged with the label of baseball mastermind. "It's just kind of evolved that way for us," says the Ashland coach. "It's not like a stroke of genius on my part." The evolution began last season when Stover and his staff recognized two things: No. 1, Allen takes a while to get warmed up; No. 2, the option of throwing then-seniors Jayson Schroeder and Nick Ehlers as a combination in Game 1 was more than effective. "Jayson and Nick really complemented each other and really battled," says Stover. "When you put them out there they gave everything they had. "And I like throwing by committee. Nothing affects hitters more than someone who throws at a different speed and from a different position. If I had seven pitchers, I'd probably throw each of them for two innings." That committee approach in Game 1 allowed Schroeder to post a 5-2 SOC mark with a 2.07 ERA thanks to the relief efforts of Ehlers. Allen went 6-0 with a 1.37 ERA in Game 2-action. And if your No. 2 is good enough to beat someone else's No. 1, then why not take that route? Already this season, sophomore left-hander Chad Hegdahl tossed 6� innings of no-hit ball to help propel the Grizzlies to a SOC-opening sweep at Roseburg. Although a pitching line like that isn't expected each time out for Hegdahl or Kyle Puderbaugh, Stover's other option for Game 1, it obviously can't be counted out. "It's a great strategy if you can get by that first one," says Britton, "because then it gives your team a lot of confidence heading into that second game. Win or lose the first game, though, you still know you've got your No. 1 coming in to finish things off." Stover says the biggest reason for the unconventional approach resides in Allen's personae. The 6-foot-5, 210-pounder simply is the kind of player who needs a little dirt on his uniform and sweat on his brow to get going. "Mike's a big, fun-loving kid who just loves to play baseball," says the Ashland coach. "He's the kind of kid who gets stronger as he goes along." That bodes well for the Grizzlies, who rely on Allen's bat and defensive intangibles maybe even more than his prowess on the mound. "Usually your ace pitcher is not your fourth hitter so we have to use Mike with some kind of discretion," says Stover. To that point, Allen has also moved from the infield to the outfield to conserve his energy and eliminate the possibility of fingers damaged by hard-hit ground balls. All those theories sound just fine on paper, but anything can happen when two teams comprised of teenage boys step on the field. "You can strategize and game plan all you want," says Stover, "and then you walk on the field and it's a totally different game." As is always the possibility, Stover's approach can backfire and leave his team even without the expected split. "If their ace has a good outing and Mike has a bad outing in that second game, then it doesn't look so good, does it?" admits Stover. That seems to be the prevailing theme for coaches who, clich� as it may sound, apologetically admit to "playing it one game-at-a-time." "I'm a firm believer in trying to win one game and worrying about the next one next," says Britton, who also believes a coach's options are greater when the team's ace is sent out in the first game. "Lets say he throws a great game in that first one on only 75 pitches," adds Britton. "Then you've always got him for relief in that second game." While all of this adds to the intrigue of this year's SOC baseball race, it's not likely to affect how each team approaches their matchups with Ashland. "We tend to go with our strengths rather than worry about what the other team does," says eighth-year North Medford coach Brett Wolfe. "We're just concerned with our game plan and how we're going to get the best results from our kids." Which, after all, is really what Stover's doing at Ashland, and there's no reason to change stride now. "If there's one thing I know," says Britton, "it's that if it's not broken, don't fix it." 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.