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47 °F Forecast | Road Cams Thursday, November 25, 2004 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics Tempo AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map SPECIAL SECTIONS Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Menu Guide How To Guide Wellness Connection Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Wedding Guide Passport to the Rogue Valley EXTRA Newspaper in Education Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People MARKETPLACE Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Classifieds Place an ad eSouthernOregon Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar CUSTOMER SERVICE Frequent Questions Advertising Information Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Network Affiliate Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend May 2, 2004 Unsung hurlers shine for Ashland, South in split By JOE ZAVALA for the Mail Tribune ASHLAND — It was opposite day Saturday at North Mountain Park, where two of the top pitchers in the Southern Oregon Conference went down in flames while a pair of lesser-known hurlers toughed out valuable league wins. It was Ashland’s Micah Weston first. The senior out-dueled South Medford ace Tim Holtz in the Grizzlies’ 5-4 victory, which wasn’t secured until Grizz catcher Brian Ross singled in the winning run with two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning. In Game 2, Rick Imhausen led South past Ashland lefty Chad Hegdahl, 6-2, thanks to a big seventh in which the Panthers scored four runs on four hits, one walk and a wild pitch. Imhausen’s sterling performance — he allowed just four hits and got Arron Nelson to fly out with two on in the seventh — keeps the fifth-ranked Panthers (16-4, 12-3 SOC) in first place by one game, while Weston’s win keeps Ashland (12-7, 8-7 SOC) in the middle of a fierce playoff race. Advertisement "It’s young kids, and it’s high school baseball in the SOC — any given day," South Medford coach Steve Antich said. "All that stuff is cliche, but it’s true. That’s a perfect example. We got out there with what I would like to think the two best pitchers in the SOC with (Holtz) and Hegdahl, and they both come up short in two pretty well-played games." The Panthers lead second-place North Medford by one game with just six league games remaining. The two teams will square off Tuesday at Miles Field that at most will determine the league champion and at least will decide which team will secure the all-important tie-breaker. With the first SOC title in team history within their grasp, the Panthers are starting to feel the heat. "I think everyone knows it’s a little nerve-racking going into Tuesday," said South Medford junior Logan Boyd, who went 5-for-7 on the day with a key hit in Game 2 and a home run in Game 1. "Cross-town rival, team we don’t really like the most. We’ve got some buddies on (North Medford) that we just want to beat — man, we’ve been playing against them forever. It’s going to be that special if we get that victory." In Saturday’s opener, South blasted Weston early to take a 4-1 lead into the bottom of the third, but the Grizzlies scored three in the third to reclaim the momentum. Ross and John Goldberg each crunched RBI singles and Rocky Reeser drove home the other run with a sacrifice bunt. Weston settled down after that, and only one more Panther advanced past first base the rest of the way. Weston scattered 10 hits through seven innings to improve to 3-2. Ashland, which backed up Weston with an error-free defense, used a two-out rally in the seventh to end South’s five-game winning streak. Jackson Rowe, who went 3-for-4 on the day, got it started with a bloop single that dropped into left field, and Hegdahl followed with a walk, fighting back from a 1-2 count against the hard- throwing Holtz. Two pitches later, Ross barely found a hole between shortstop and third, scoring courtesy runner Sam Littleton. Game 2 turned out to be pitchers’ duel — at least until the seventh, when Hegdahl (5-2), who entered the game with a 1.14 ERA, finally blinked. Boyd led off with a ground-rule double to left. After a walk and a groundout, Justin Meyer sliced a sacrifice fly to right that scored the go-ahead run. The Panthers added three insurance runs, including two on RBI hits by Corey O’Neill and Andy Narus. "I felt I didn’t do my job," said Hegdahl, who suffered his first loss since April 10. "I didn’t hit my spots, and I was trying to do too much. I guess it was just one of those days. Everyone has them." The Grizzlies’ attempt at another two-out rally was quashed when Nelson popped out to shallow center with runners at first and second. Ashland stranded three runners in scoring position in Game 2 — one in the first, one in the sixth and one in the seventh. Ross said that was the key. "The pitching was good today — (Hegdahl) was hitting his spots, we just left runners on base," he said, after catching both games. "We just didn’t clutch up, we just didn’t hit the ball when we had runners on base in scoring position. We left guys on. Right there was the No. 1 problem." Dan Chancler and Allen Smith each drove in a run to give the Panthers a 2-0 lead in the first. Nelson scored on a wild pitch in the bottom of the inning to cut the lead in half, and Rowe’s run-scoring single to center in the third tied it up. Both pitchers cruised through the next three innings leading up to South’s rally. "A sweep would have been nice, but we’re happy just for a split right now," Boyd said. "Now, we’re gonna work hard on Monday and just bring the sticks on Tuesday." FIRST GAME South Medford.......................112 000 0 — 4 10 0 Ashland.................................. 103 000 1 — 5 10 0 Holtz and Meyer; Weston and Ross. W — Weston (3-2). L — Holtz. 2B — SM: Bryant, Narus, Smith; A: Hegdahl. HR — SM: Boyd. SECOND GAME South Medford...........................200 000 4 - 6 9 2 Ashland.....................................101 000 0 — 2 4 4 Imhausen and Koziol; Hegdahl and Ross. W — Imhausen. L — Hegdahl (5-2). 2B — SM: Boyd, O’Neill; A: Ross, Dodds. Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2004 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions Website Feedback ADVERTISERS A D V E R T I S E R S SPECIAL SECTIONS Auto Finder Job Finder Home Finder Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Tempo Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Moving to Southern Oregon? Volunteer Opportunities