Daffron, North Medford dial it in to stave off South Medford’s comeback bid

Published 10:20 am Thursday, April 3, 2025

By KRIS HENRY / Rogue Valley Times

Black Tornado build 4-0 lead as Daffron holds Panthers hitless over opening three frames before late drama in SWC opener

Whether it was holding South Medford hitless over the first three perfect innings, or having to buckle down once the Panthers got the tying run to the plate in the final frame, North Medford senior Dominic Daffon didn’t flinch.

Bolstered by their headliner on the pitching mound, neither did the Black Tornado as they held the visiting Panthers at bay for a 6-3 win in the Southwest Conference baseball opener for both Wednesday.

North Medford senior Dominic Daffron delivers a pitch against South Medford during Wednesday’s Southwest Conference opener. (Andy Atkinson / for the Rogue Valley Times)

Daffron went the distance, striking out three with two walks and six hits allowed. Of the three runs against the right-hander, only one was earned after North Medford (5-1, 1-0 SWC) finished with three errors during their debut on a grass field following play solely on turf in the Portland area.

“Dom generally starts out strong,” said North Medford head coach Kerry Curtis. “He throws a lot of strikes and has great command of his pitches and puts the ball where we want it to be.”

“He just has such great composure, he doesn’t get rattled,” added Curtis. “He walked a guy and hit a guy that (fourth) inning, and he works out of it. That’s what makes him the pitcher that he is, is that he can be strong and then he can also battle back when the other teams put the ball in play or we boot a ball or whatever. He has great command, and guys respond to that.”

Daffron had his fastball and changeup working early on, and played a part in a pitcher’s best friend in his own right with an RBI single to center field after fellow senior Easton Curtis had led off the bottom of the first with a screaming double down the left field line.

Courtesy runner Joe Castillo was able to make his way to third base following a pair of outs as South Medford starter Jake Lewis settled in, and a two-out double just inside the third base bag by senior Macen Baker brought the lead to 2-0 over the Panthers (4-3, 0-1).

North Medford junior courtesy runner Joe Castillo celebrates after sliding into second base safe Wednesday against South Medford. (Andy Atkinson / for the Rogue Valley Times)

The Black Tornado was able to double that advantage in the bottom of the second after consecutive one-out singles by seniors Austin Warren and Tate Snyder put the pressure on and Curtis reached on an infield single to load the bases. Daffron followed with a fielder’s choice to plate one run, and a second crossed the plate when the relay throw for a double-play attempt by second baseman Keegan Painter skipped low and past first baseman Jedi Robertson.

Suddenly, Daffron had a 4-0 lead through two innings and had faced only six batters in 19 pitches.

“It’s huge to get the offense going early and to score those runs,” said Daffron. “It gives me a good cushion, and to feel more comfortable out there. Defensively, too, we made some really good plays in the beginning of the game there that were really huge.”

Neither team was rather choosy at the plate, and that was by design by each given the respect shown for Daffron and Lewis.

“He’s a guy that throws four pitches for strikes, and we didn’t feel like playing the pitch-count game was going to be beneficial for us,” said South Medford head coach Josh Moody of Daffron, who already has a complete-game shutout of Lake Oswego under his belt this spring. “We told our hitters just to hunt our pitch and be ready for it, but we did have about three innings there where it was just soft contact and quick innings that kind of hurt us in the long run.”

The same approach could be found on the North Medford side, where the Black Tornado posted five of their 10 hits over the first two innings.

South Medford junior Jake Lewis delivers a pitch Wednesday against North Medford during the Southwest Conference opener. (Andy Atkinson / for the Rogue Valley Times)

“Jake’s a good pitcher and he’s a lot like Dom in that they throw a lot of strikes,” said coach Curtis. “Kind of our approach is that you might only see one good pitch in an at-bat and, by golly, take advantage of it, and we did.”

South Medford finally broke Daffron’s string of nine straight batters sent down when senior Tristan Mallari worked a full-count walk, and then junior Brad Love was hit by a first-pitch curveball one out later. Robertson hit a hot shot to shortstop Ben Morgan that he was able to field for a fielder’s choice for a second out, but senior Evan Rhoden didn’t let the moment totally get away from South Medford as he slipped an RBI single past a ranging Warren at third base to break the drought.

North Medford picked up the pace in the fifth inning to stretch its lead to 6-1 after Daffron and sophomore Brady Patterson opened the frame with singles.

With one out, Baker followed with a grounder to third baseman Grady McQuillan, who went to his knees just beyond the bag to make a play on the ball. Instead of racing to the bag or tagging oncoming courtesy runner Castillo before trying to complete a double play at first base, McQuillan opted to throw across the diamond at first base to Robertson, who in turn tried to relay the ball back across the diamond in time to salvage an out at third of a delayed Castillo but the ball skipped by and a run was able to score on the play.

Senior Colton Miller followed with an RBI single to right field to plate Robertson, who had made it over to third after the groundout and ensuing error.

South Medford junior Keegan Painter slides into third base safe in front of the tag from North Medford’s Austin Warren Wednesday. (Andy Atkinson / for the Rogue Valley Times)

Those runs were made more important after South Medford finally was able to take advantage at the plate when Daffron began to struggle to locate his curveball and found himself slightly out of rhythm with his other offerings — getting great play from first-year starting catcher Patterson to keep the Panthers from taking more advantage.

A throwing error and ball in the dirt allowed Painter to move into scoring position in the top of the sixth, and Love responded with an RBI single to right field that saw him take second on the throw home. After another wild pitch put Love at third base, Robertson picked up an RBI groundout to make it 6-3.

Consecutive singles by Rhoden and Lewis, who battled back from an 0-2 count, allowed South Medford to bring the tying run to the plate with two outs. After a mound visit from assistant coach John King and the spurring on by his teammates, Daffron buckled down to get a called third strike of senior Owen Leavens to limit the damage.

“My teammates were really important in that game, they were picking me up and everyone was cheering me on in the dugout and everyone on the field was cheering me on,” Daffron said of his ability to overcome Wednesday’s adversity. “It’s really huge for a pitcher when you’ve got your guys backing you up like that.”

Daffron seemed destined for that to be his only true rocky inning of the game after generating two quick outs to start the seventh, but another errant throw on a grounder by Mallari and a single by Painter put South Medford back in position.

North Medford shortstop Ben Morgan makes a play for an out during the first inning against South Medford Wednesday. (Andy Atkinson / for the Rogue Valley Times)

A wild pitch advanced both runners into scoring position for Love — putting the tying run at the plate for a second straight inning — but Daffron was able to induce Love into a grounder to the shortstop Morgan, whose high throw was grabbed nicely in a stretch by sophomore Cade Pettersen at first base, who then slapped a final tag on Love to ensure the final out.

“We made adjustments offensively and just kept grinding it out,” said Moody. “We had a chance there at the end, but that’s baseball. They played better than us today and came out on top.”

With so much experience on the roster, North Medford carries big hopes into the SWC season and beyond, according to Daffron.

“It’s always fun to beat those guys, especially when everyone is part of the game there,” said Daffron. “It was a really big, really huge win for us.”

“I think this sets the tone really well,” he added. “I think this shows everyone else in our conference that we’re ready to go out and compete, and I’m looking forward to the rest of it.”

His head coach certainly agreed.

“As far as the conference, it is 100% wide open,” said coach Curtis. “I think there are some teams that have some younger, good players that we don’t know a whole lot about right yet, so I think there’s going to be some unknowns. Everybody’s got a couple of good arms, and it’s just a matter of us being prepared and focused on game day.”

Reach sports editor Kris Henry at kris.henry@rv-times.com or 458-488-2035

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