'08 Olympics
The comments above are from users of theworldlink.com and do not necessarily represent the views of The World or Lee Enterprises. Participation Guidelines
Note: There is a maximum of 200 words per comment. If you wish to post more, please visit our forum.
Pilots beat North Medford for American Legion state title
Font Size:
By John Gunther, Sports editor
Thursday, August 07, 2008 | No comments posted.
NORTH BEND — Chalk up another championship for the Ashland baseball program.
The Ashland Pilots captured the American Legion Class A state title for the second straight year, beating North Medford 5-4 in a championship game marked by amazing defense at Clyde Allen Field. In between the two American Legion titles, Ashland High School won the Class 5A state baseball crown this spring.
“It’s awesome,” said Ian Kendall, one of the heroes of Tuesday’s championship win. “It’s amazing, the feeling. Nothing’s going to be as sweet as (the) high school (title), but this is great.”
Kendall hit a two-run home run in the first inning to help the Pilots to a quick 3-1 lead on the Mavericks and then turned in several stellar plays at third base to keep Ashland in front.
Tournament most valuable player Garrett Tygerson also homered for Ashland, his third in three days, and also combined with Brady Thomas to keep the Mavericks from posting any big innings with quality pitching throughout the championship game.
“I just feel we both pitched well,” said Tygerson, who was on the mound for the first five innings after closing out a 12-8 win over Roseburg Pepsi earlier in the day that put the Pilots in the championship game. “We kept them off-balance. We hit our spots.”
Ashland advances to the regional tournament at Anacortes, Wash., a year after making a deep run in the 2007 regionals in Alaska.
The Pilots won four straight games after losing 11-1 to host North Coos on Saturday night.
“North Coos was looking like the best team coming in,” said Kendall. “After that game, we had a mind-set to take it one game at a time.”
That worked for the Pilots, who eliminated Jake’s Crawfish on Sunday and then beat North Medford Monday to hand the Mavericks their first loss of the tournament and stay alive. Ashland followed that with Tuesday’s two wins.
Ashland manager Royce Miller said the advantage of having a relatively young team is that the players don’t always feel the pressure of a must-win situation.
“I don’t think that matters to a young group,” he said. “They just come back to play.”
Ashland did just that in the championship game.
Nic Hall walked with one out in the bottom of the first and Kendall followed by smashing a ball over the left-field wall. Tygerson then hit a single and eventually scored on a bases-loaded walk to Lucas Stone.
The Pilots answered every Medford run throughout the game.
Hayden Wolfe led off the first with a single for the Mavericks and Bradey Shipley sacrificed — the first of five such bunts by North Medford in the game. Chris Bradshaw brought Wolfe home with a single.
In the second, Travis Cash singled, moved up on a sacrifice by Cory Pine and scored on a single by Shipley to cut the deficit to 3-2.
But Ashland added a run an inning later. Max Gordon walked with one out in the third, stole second, moved to third on a single by Brent Hegdahl, and scored on a wild pitch.
North Medford responded in the fourth when Wolfe walked, Shipley singled, Bradshaw moved them up with a sacrifice and Stephen Cole hit a sacrifice fly.
Then it was Tygerson’s turn, hitting the fourth pitch of the fifth inning over the right field fence near the scoreboard.
“That last one was the most important,” Tygerson said of his power burst in the tournament. “It gave us an insurance run. We needed it.”
As it was, the run was just enough.
Thomas replaced Tygerson in the sixth and got the Mavericks out for two innings.
In the eighth, Pine led off with a single and Wolfe walked. Shipley sacrificed the runners over, and Bradshaw lifted a sacrifice fly to right to score Pine. North Medford looked set to knot the score when Cole hit a line drive to center, but Ashland’s Gordon raced in from deep in the outfield to snag the ball.
The Mavericks never threatened in the ninth as Thomas retired Jessie Hornbrook, Mark Cokenour and Cory Haggans in order, sparking a big celebration.
It was made possible because of the stellar defense.
Neither team made an error, and both came up with big stops at the right times.
“Our coach has always tried to say, ‘Give them 21 outs (for a seven-inning game) and that’s it,’” Kendall said, referring to playing error-free ball.
Kendall was a big part of that, despite only playing third base in a few games this summer. He recorded six put-outs in the game, including the plays that ended the third, fourth and ninth innings.
In the third, North Medford had runners on first and third with two outs and Pine put down a good bunt along the third-base line. Kendall raced in, picked the ball up off the grass and barely beat Pine to first with the throw, saving a run.
In the fifth inning, Cokenour led off with a walk and Haggans hit a smash to third. Kendall snared the ball on a hop, pivoted and forced Cokenour at second base, nearly starting a double play in the process.
Stone, Ashland’s first baseman, made a diving stop on a ball hit by Wolfe later in the third inning to get the third out and save a run.
Meanwhile, Ashland’s outfielders cut off every hard line drive as the Pilots limited the Mavericks to 10 singles.
Miller was thrilled with his team’s effort in the field.
“That’s what it takes in a championship game,” he said. “You’ve got to make plays.
“They did make great plays at the times we needed them.”
The other important defensive player, Miller said, was Brent Hegdahl, the Pilots catcher, who was behind the plate for all 18 innings Tuesday, an impressive effort for a player who is going to be a high school sophomore in the fall.
Hegdahl and Tygerson were the only Ashland players with two hits in the championship game.
Shipley had three singles for North Medford, while Bradshaw and Cash had two singles each.
North Medford coach Brett Wolfe was happy for his kids after the game, knowing the tournament experience will help them in their high school season next spring and next summer’s American Legion campaign.
“I’m excited for our kids,” Wolfe said. “We lost 17 kids out of our program the last two years.”
The newcomers developed into strong pitchers, fielders and hitters, he said.
Ashland 12, Roseburg Pepsi 8
To reach the title game, Ashland overcame an 8-7 deficit with two runs in the seventh inning and three more in the eighth.
Kendall, Tygerson and Hall scored three runs each in the game. Kendall had three hits, including a double, and Tygerson had three RBIs. Gordon had two hits and Scarminach had two runs.
Blayne Sterling had a home run for the Bottlecaps, while Reid Martin and Etan Sweeden each had three hits. Roseburg Pepsi out-hit Ashland 11-6, but committed eight errors in the loss.
Game 14
Ashland 12, Roseburg Pepsi 8
Roseburg 010 411 100 — 8 11 8
Ashland 203 200 23x — 12 6 2
Vince Ampi, Josh Davis (5), Jay Tovey (8) and Etan Sweeden, Ampi (5); Lucas Stone, Brady Thomas (6), Garrett Tygerson (8) and Brent Hegdahl. 2B—Ros: Sweden, Ampi, Reid Martin; Ash: Kendall. HR—Ros: Blayne Sterling.
Championship Game
Ashland 5, North Medford 4
North Medford 110 100 010 — 4 10 0
Ashland 301 010 00x — 5 8 0
Mark Cokenour, Bradey Shipley (3) and Cory Pine; Garrett Tygerson, Brady Thomas (6) and Brent Hegdahl. HR—Ash: Tygerson, Ian Kendall.
The Ashland Pilots captured the American Legion Class A state title for the second straight year, beating North Medford 5-4 in a championship game marked by amazing defense at Clyde Allen Field. In between the two American Legion titles, Ashland High School won the Class 5A state baseball crown this spring.
“It’s awesome,” said Ian Kendall, one of the heroes of Tuesday’s championship win. “It’s amazing, the feeling. Nothing’s going to be as sweet as (the) high school (title), but this is great.”
Kendall hit a two-run home run in the first inning to help the Pilots to a quick 3-1 lead on the Mavericks and then turned in several stellar plays at third base to keep Ashland in front.
Tournament most valuable player Garrett Tygerson also homered for Ashland, his third in three days, and also combined with Brady Thomas to keep the Mavericks from posting any big innings with quality pitching throughout the championship game.
“I just feel we both pitched well,” said Tygerson, who was on the mound for the first five innings after closing out a 12-8 win over Roseburg Pepsi earlier in the day that put the Pilots in the championship game. “We kept them off-balance. We hit our spots.”
Ashland advances to the regional tournament at Anacortes, Wash., a year after making a deep run in the 2007 regionals in Alaska.
The Pilots won four straight games after losing 11-1 to host North Coos on Saturday night.
“North Coos was looking like the best team coming in,” said Kendall. “After that game, we had a mind-set to take it one game at a time.”
That worked for the Pilots, who eliminated Jake’s Crawfish on Sunday and then beat North Medford Monday to hand the Mavericks their first loss of the tournament and stay alive. Ashland followed that with Tuesday’s two wins.
Ashland manager Royce Miller said the advantage of having a relatively young team is that the players don’t always feel the pressure of a must-win situation.
“I don’t think that matters to a young group,” he said. “They just come back to play.”
Ashland did just that in the championship game.
Nic Hall walked with one out in the bottom of the first and Kendall followed by smashing a ball over the left-field wall. Tygerson then hit a single and eventually scored on a bases-loaded walk to Lucas Stone.
The Pilots answered every Medford run throughout the game.
Hayden Wolfe led off the first with a single for the Mavericks and Bradey Shipley sacrificed — the first of five such bunts by North Medford in the game. Chris Bradshaw brought Wolfe home with a single.
In the second, Travis Cash singled, moved up on a sacrifice by Cory Pine and scored on a single by Shipley to cut the deficit to 3-2.
But Ashland added a run an inning later. Max Gordon walked with one out in the third, stole second, moved to third on a single by Brent Hegdahl, and scored on a wild pitch.
North Medford responded in the fourth when Wolfe walked, Shipley singled, Bradshaw moved them up with a sacrifice and Stephen Cole hit a sacrifice fly.
Then it was Tygerson’s turn, hitting the fourth pitch of the fifth inning over the right field fence near the scoreboard.
“That last one was the most important,” Tygerson said of his power burst in the tournament. “It gave us an insurance run. We needed it.”
As it was, the run was just enough.
Thomas replaced Tygerson in the sixth and got the Mavericks out for two innings.
In the eighth, Pine led off with a single and Wolfe walked. Shipley sacrificed the runners over, and Bradshaw lifted a sacrifice fly to right to score Pine. North Medford looked set to knot the score when Cole hit a line drive to center, but Ashland’s Gordon raced in from deep in the outfield to snag the ball.
The Mavericks never threatened in the ninth as Thomas retired Jessie Hornbrook, Mark Cokenour and Cory Haggans in order, sparking a big celebration.
It was made possible because of the stellar defense.
Neither team made an error, and both came up with big stops at the right times.
“Our coach has always tried to say, ‘Give them 21 outs (for a seven-inning game) and that’s it,’” Kendall said, referring to playing error-free ball.
Kendall was a big part of that, despite only playing third base in a few games this summer. He recorded six put-outs in the game, including the plays that ended the third, fourth and ninth innings.
In the third, North Medford had runners on first and third with two outs and Pine put down a good bunt along the third-base line. Kendall raced in, picked the ball up off the grass and barely beat Pine to first with the throw, saving a run.
In the fifth inning, Cokenour led off with a walk and Haggans hit a smash to third. Kendall snared the ball on a hop, pivoted and forced Cokenour at second base, nearly starting a double play in the process.
Stone, Ashland’s first baseman, made a diving stop on a ball hit by Wolfe later in the third inning to get the third out and save a run.
Meanwhile, Ashland’s outfielders cut off every hard line drive as the Pilots limited the Mavericks to 10 singles.
Miller was thrilled with his team’s effort in the field.
“That’s what it takes in a championship game,” he said. “You’ve got to make plays.
“They did make great plays at the times we needed them.”
The other important defensive player, Miller said, was Brent Hegdahl, the Pilots catcher, who was behind the plate for all 18 innings Tuesday, an impressive effort for a player who is going to be a high school sophomore in the fall.
Hegdahl and Tygerson were the only Ashland players with two hits in the championship game.
Shipley had three singles for North Medford, while Bradshaw and Cash had two singles each.
North Medford coach Brett Wolfe was happy for his kids after the game, knowing the tournament experience will help them in their high school season next spring and next summer’s American Legion campaign.
“I’m excited for our kids,” Wolfe said. “We lost 17 kids out of our program the last two years.”
The newcomers developed into strong pitchers, fielders and hitters, he said.
Ashland 12, Roseburg Pepsi 8
To reach the title game, Ashland overcame an 8-7 deficit with two runs in the seventh inning and three more in the eighth.
Kendall, Tygerson and Hall scored three runs each in the game. Kendall had three hits, including a double, and Tygerson had three RBIs. Gordon had two hits and Scarminach had two runs.
Blayne Sterling had a home run for the Bottlecaps, while Reid Martin and Etan Sweeden each had three hits. Roseburg Pepsi out-hit Ashland 11-6, but committed eight errors in the loss.
Game 14
Ashland 12, Roseburg Pepsi 8
Roseburg 010 411 100 — 8 11 8
Ashland 203 200 23x — 12 6 2
Vince Ampi, Josh Davis (5), Jay Tovey (8) and Etan Sweeden, Ampi (5); Lucas Stone, Brady Thomas (6), Garrett Tygerson (8) and Brent Hegdahl. 2B—Ros: Sweden, Ampi, Reid Martin; Ash: Kendall. HR—Ros: Blayne Sterling.
Championship Game
Ashland 5, North Medford 4
North Medford 110 100 010 — 4 10 0
Ashland 301 010 00x — 5 8 0
Mark Cokenour, Bradey Shipley (3) and Cory Pine; Garrett Tygerson, Brady Thomas (6) and Brent Hegdahl. HR—Ash: Tygerson, Ian Kendall.
The World welcomes your comments about stories, and we encourage a robust dialogue on this site. All comments must meet reasonable standards of decency and civility.
Please follow these basic rules:
- No defamatory comments about individuals or businesses.
- No deliberately false information.
- No obscenity or racially offensive language.
- No harassment, verbal abuse, threats or personal attacks.
- No information that invades another person's privacy.
- No business solicitations or charitable solicitations.
Comments that violate these standards will not be posted. Users with repeated violations may be banned from future posting.Comments will be approved throughout the day during business hours. After hours and weekend comments may not appear until the following business day. It may take a couple of hours before comments are approved.
The World generally does not edit comments, but we reserve the right to edit any comment that does not meet our standards.
Close Guidelines