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Dialed in: Ragan solid in Rogues debut as Medford cages Bears Medford Rogues starter Jordan Ragan pitches against Yuba City at Harry & David Field on Wednesday. [LARRY STAUTH JR./FOR THE MAIL TRIBUNE] Thursday Jun 1, 2017 at 2:00 AM Jun 1, 2017 at 7:06 AM Kris Henry Mail Tribune @Kris_Henry Jordan Ragan is no stranger to Harry & David Field given his time spent on the mound growing up here in Medford, and that comfort level was on full display Wednesday in his debut outing for the Medford Rogues. Ragan, who made eight starts in 12 appearances this past season at College of Southern Idaho, was in prime form to help the Rogues improve to 2-0 in the Great West League with an 8-2 triumph over the visiting Yuba City Bears. The left-hander struck out two with no walks and allowed three hits in six scoreless innings to help set the tone for Medford in Game 2 of the season-opening three-game series. “It was a lot of fun out there,” said Ragan, who was 2-6 with a 7.45 ERA during the spring season. “I had a lot of people I knew here and I had a blast. I haven’t thrown in a game in a few weeks but I felt good up there.” Ragan said he had been working with North Medford High baseball coach Brett Wolfe in recent weeks to prepare for the summer, and felt dialed in with his mechanics — and it showed. “Jordan was great,” said Rogues manager Josh Hogan. “That’s the Jordan that we expected and hope to see more of. A left-handed pitcher that throws strikes and commands the zone with tempo and off-speed pitches, that’s what you like as a coach.” As a pitcher, what you like to see is early support on the offensive and defensive ends and Ragan certainly was treated with both against Yuba City (0-2) as Medford opened a 6-0 lead through three innings. “It takes a lot of pressure off on the mound when you have a four or five or six-run lead,” said Ragan. “It’s kind of easy to pitch after that. You still have to make good pitches but there’s a lot less pressure.” The Rogues built a 2-0 lead in the first in unconventional fashion thanks to returners Connor Lowrie and Johnny DeLaCruz. Lowrie got everything rolling when he reached safely on a perfectly placed leadoff bunt, then moved to second on a throwing error by third baseman Josh Winkler. “It was a really good job by Connor really putting pressure on the defense from the start,” said DeLaCruz, who finished 3-for-4 with two runs and one RBI. After an out, DeLaCruz singled to right-center and moved to second on a throw home to keep Lowrie at third. When catcher Logan Wurm threw wide of second base in an attempt to get DeLaCruz, Lowrie came in to score on the error and then a third error by center fielder T.J. Dove on a throw to third to nab DeLaCruz allowed the bases to clear for a 2-0 Medford lead. “I got down in the count and really all I wanted to do is put the ball in play,” said DeLaCruz. “That ended up happening and they threw the ball around a couple times and we just kind of capitalized on it.” Medford broke the game open in the third inning with four runs on three hits and two walks to build a 6-0 cushion for Ragan. DeLaCruz started it all with a one-out single and, after a walk to Josh Berman and a wild pitch by Aaron Fuentes, he scored on a sacrifice fly by Jake Hellweg. Berman, a former teammate of Ragan’s at North Medford and for the Medford Mustangs, then scored on a wild pitch and a walk to Jake Gozzo brought an end to the night for Fuentes, who was relieved by Jacob Olofson and immediately greeted with a comebacker single by Dante Gutierrez. A two-run single by Scotty Wright made it 6-0 and put the Rogues in full control for the second straight night. “We put quality at-bats together early and had a few skill bunts and just put the pressure on them really hot early,” said Hogan. “We had 25 quality at-bats today and 13 stung balls so anytime we get that and can shut them down defensively and throw strikes, I’m going to really like our chances.” Medford tacked on single runs in the fourth and fifth innings on RBI hits by DeLaCruz and Bryce Tilton, respectively, to make it 8-0. Yuba City scored its two runs in the eighth inning against Rogues reliever Ryan Carle after a walk to T.J. Dove, RBI double by pinch-hitter Blake Rose and RBI single by Josh Winkler. In all, Medford’s four pitchers combined to give up only two walks with five strikeouts and scattered seven hits. “We really pounded the zone and made them try and beat us with the sticks rather than errors or with walks and I was really happy with that,” added Hogan. For DeLaCruz, he said he and Lowrie were just happy to be back in Medford and hoping to lead a return to the GWL Championship Series. “Last year was just amazing with all the guys that we played with and the fans and everything,” said DeLaCruz, “it was just a great experience for us so it was a no-doubter for us coming back. We talked about it and all we really want to do is try and get that same feel with the team and so far it’s been really good. We have some good guys here and a lot of guys that jell together so I think it’s going to be a really good season.” Yuba City;000;000;020;—;2;7;5 Medford;204;110;00x;—;8;10;0 Fuentes, Olofson (3), Lamas (6), Bugarin (8) and Wurm, Kitagawa (6); Ragan, Howard (7), Carle (8), Floyd (9) and Gutierrez. W — Ragan (1-0). L — Fuentes (0-1). 2B — YC: Boehm, Rose. Reach reporter Kris Henry at 541-776-4488, [email protected], www.facebook.com/krishenryMT or www.twitter.com/Kris_Henry