Medford beats Sherwood to set up two shots at 18th state championship Wednesday
Medford left the Sherwood Lobos with one extra-base double after another to remain unbeaten in the American Legion AAA state tournament with a 14-4 victory in six innings Tuesday night at Legion Field in Roseburg.
The Mustangs (36-7) hit six doubles, four in the first inning alone, and took command early with four runs in each of the first two innings to earn the mercy-rule victory.
“It was nice to start out on top, like always,” Mustangs manager Nate Mayben said. “They hit the ball really well all game, so that was nice to see. It would have been nice to get out of there in five innings, but I’ll take 14-4 any day.”
Thanks to a 4-0 record in the tournament, Medford will have as many as two chances to claim the program’s 18th state championship on Wednesday. The Mustangs can secure the title with a 2pm win over the Hillsboro Barbers (33-9-1), but a loss in that game would set up a Game 2 with the winner at 5pm.
“We played hard in this (championship) game and it’s always a little bit easier to sleep knowing you’re going to get beat twice,” said Mayben, in his 12th season at the helm. “The kids did a good job of not backing down and taking it seriously tonight. They did a great job of keeping the momentum going for us.”
The Barbers, who lost 7-6 in 11 innings to Medford on Monday, eliminated Roseburg Dr. Stewart’s with a 3-1 win earlier Tuesday to secure their spot in Day 5 for the second year in a row. Last year, Medford beat Hillsboro on the final day for the second time in the tournament before losing to Eugene in a bid to claim a seventh straight state crown.
“They’re solid,” Mayben said of the more veteran barbers. “This is going to be tough. This is not a giveaway by any means. They have their pitching lined up, but we also have our pitching lined up, so it’s going to be a battle.”
“We’re looking forward to it and I know the guys are excited,” he added Wednesday of the championship. “That’s it, that’s what we’ve been working on all summer.”
Medford definitely got to work against Sherwood (15-10), which advanced out of the play-in round and had a 2-1 record in the tournament entering Tuesday.
A leadoff single by Cody Borraggine was followed by an RBI double by Cameron Sewell and the Mustangs were off to a run. Tanner Douglas and Aiden Horsley added two runs to make it 3-0, and a two-out RBI double by Frankie Rutigliano capped the early flurry.
After starting pitcher Owen Thompson sent the Lobos to their second straight inning, the Mustangs picked up where they left off with four more runs in the second inning.
Johnny King led off the frame with a single and scored on a double by Borraggine. Sewell added another RBI double for Medford’s sixth double in 11 at-bats, and Horsley’s RBI single extended the lead to 7-0. Medford scored its final run of the inning on a late double steal that saw Jace Miller cross the plate for an 8-0 lead.
From there, it was just a matter of whether Medford could win in the minimum five innings, but Bowen Stinson’s home run in the fifth inning prevented that possibility. The home run was just his third of the tournament, with Miller also hitting one on Monday against Hillsboro.
The Mustangs were able to close out the game at least one inning early when Triston Wallace made a nifty slide to avoid a tag at home on a game-ending sacrifice bunt by Sewell.
Douglas went 3-for-4 with a run and two RBIs to lead Medford’s 14-hit attack, while Sewell went 2-for-3 with two runs and three RBIs.
Borraggine was 2-for-4 with two runs and two RBIs, Horlsey was 2-for-4 with a run and two RBIs, Rutigliano 2-for-2 with two runs and an RBI and King 2-for-3 with two runs. and a run driven in the balanced sample.
Thompson went 5 2/3 innings to get the pitching win, striking out four and walking four on six hits. Julius Bolstad entered in the sixth to shut down Sherwood.
Sherwood Wolves 001210—4 6 1
Medford Mustangs 443201—14 14 0
Davis, Boggs (3), Hannan (5) and Kliever, Fahland (4); Thompson, Bolstad (6) and Wallace. W — Thompson. L – Davis. 2B — M: Douglas, Horsley, Rutigliano, Borraggine, Sewell 2. HR — S: Stinson.
Do you have an idea for local history? Contact reporter Kris Henry at 541-776-4488, khenry@rosebudmedia.com, www.facebook.com/krishenryMT or www.twitter.com/Kris_Henry
Andy Atkinson / Mail TribuneTanner Douglas had three hits to lead Medford’s 14-hit attack Tuesday against Sherwood.
Andy Atkinson / Mail TribuneFrankie Rutigliano delivered one of Medford’s four doubles in the first inning to help spark the offense against Sherwood.
Andy Atkinson / Mail Tribune Medford Mustangs outfielder Cameron Sewell connected for two of his team’s six doubles in a 14-4 win over Sherwood on Tuesday.
