Medford Rogues show comfort in comebacks with Stockton sweep
Published 5:45 pm Monday, June 30, 2025
Medford rallies in all 3 series games to push comeback win total to 10, including 4 straight entering Tuesday’s game
Seemingly more comfortable all summer with their backs to the wall, Medford pulled off a comeback per night to sweep the Rogues’ recent series with the Stockton Pearls at Harry & David Field.
While the steady reaction to tense moments night after night was impressive, it certainly was nothing new for a Rogues team that has made a knack for delivering despite late-game drama.
“It’s really rare to have a team or be on a team where there’s no situation where we can’t win,” said first-year Rogues manager Kevin Olmstead. “We came back from eight runs a week ago, in this case (against Stockton) we were able to walk-off in the bottom of the ninth and 11th innings.”
Medford Rogues third baseman Jordan Marian tags out Stockton Pearls runner Tyler Williams at third base Friday evening at Harry & David Field. (Andy Atkinson / for the Rogue Valley Times)
In Friday’s three-game series opener, Medford plated two runs in the bottom of the ninth for a 7-6 victory.
On Saturday, the Rogues trailed 7-5 heading into the bottom of the ninth before forcing extra innings with two runs in that at-bat and a deciding run in the 11th for an 8-7 triumph.
Sunday didn’t quite go to the wire, but Medford rallied from a 5-4 deficit with one run in the sixth and five more in the seventh to earn a 10-5 win.
“This team’s relentless,” said Olmstead. “It’s been really fun to watch. It’s been a good summer for these guys for these comeback wins, for sure.”
The best part of it is how many Rogues players continue to be involved in the comeback efforts, instead of one or two heroes seemingly shouldering the load at every turn.
“That’s what makes it fun is everyone can contribute and anyone can be the guy, and it’s a leadup to that go-ahead run,” said Olmstead. “It’s not just one guy throughout the game. It’s a situation where we’re down by three and one guy has to get hit by a pitch and the next guy walks, and then there’s another base hit, then another guy tacks on and it’s just contagious at the end of the day.”
Medford (21-8, 4-2 PEL) has come through with 10 comeback wins, including four straight entering Tuesday’s three-game nonconference series with CCL Showcase at Harry & David Field. Game time each night is 6:35 p.m.
Ryan Severns connects for a hit for the Medford Rogues Friday evening against the Stockton Pearls at Harry & David Field. (Andy Atkinson / for the Rogue Valley Times)
Medford continues to be led offensively by Johnny Alley, who is batting .371 with 34 runs and 20 RBIs, and Ryan Severns (.385, 27 runs, 21 RBIs), Orlando Cobarrubias (.253, 24 runs, 21 RBIs), Frankie Rutigliano (.338, 18 runs, 21 RBIs), Isaac Hill (.365, 25 runs, 16 RBIs) and Aiden Horsley (.279, 15 runs, 18 RBIs).
Christopher Ortiz also sports one of the leading batting averages among the regulars at .319 to go with 17 runs and 12 RBIs and Mark Fedro is hitting .283 with 12 runs and 11 RBIs, while Garret Barto is at .356 with seven runs and 12 RBIs in 45 at-bats and Travis Finney is batting .282 with nine runs and nine RBIs in his 11 games.
On the mound, Bronson Chapple (5-0, 2.14 ERA), Dylan Finelli (3-0, 2.43 ERA) and Herman Luna (4-2, 9.68 ERA) have made the most of extended innings this summer for the Rogues, who enter the final month of the regular season Tuesday.
“We’ve just got to take one day at a time,” said Olmstead. “It’s just one pitch at a time and one inning at a time. These guys are good players but, at the same time, they’re young, so it’s still establishing how to play the game the right way, it’s how to handle adversity the right way, it’s how to handle failure the right way.”
“These guys are going to have these moments throughout July where we’re going to have some adversity and have some failure,” he added. “So, for me, it’s just not worrying about having a special July, it’s worrying about how am I going to get these guys prepared to be the best players they can be for fall ball and for their university. That’s my job, and if we go win another 20 games, that’s awesome. But, at the end of the day, I’m just trying to help develop these guys as best I can.”
Medford Rogues first baseman Kyle Norton touches the bag ahead of a Stockton Pearls runner for an out during Friday’s game at Harry & David Field. (Andy Atkinson / for the Rogue Valley Times)
Friday saw relief pitchers Samuel Janik and Luna hold the line from the sixth inning and beyond with scoreless frames to give the Rogues’ hitters a chance.
Kyle Norton and Mason Pirello scored in the bottom of the sixth to pull Medford to within 6-5 — using stolen bases, a wild pitch and a groundout by Ortiz to spur the surge. In the ninth, Cobarrubias ripped a game-tying leadoff home run, then Hill singled and moved to second when Finney drew a walk. Another double steal put Medford in motion for a walk-off win and Severns came through with a single.
Stockton led 7-2 on Saturday before the Rogues regrouped yet again, with three runs in the bottom of the seventh setting Medford up for another comeback. Pirello singled home Cobarrubias before Ortiz singled home Fedro and Pirello to make it 7-5.
In the bottom of the ninth, Pirello was hit by a pitch and Norton reached on a fielder’s choice that included a run-scoring error. Norton then moved across the bases on wild pitches to knot the score at 7-all — with Medford using an aggressive approach on the basepaths to score without benefit of a hit.
“We’re creating chaos, baby,” Olmstead said. “We have (134) stolen bags through 29 games, that’s pretty damn impressive. That’s my philosophy. You create chaos and you make the defense think about you and make the defense have to make plays off of you. Sometimes we’ll get out and sometimes it won’t go in our favor, but most of the time it will.”
Medford Rogues second baseman Travis Finney makes a play for an out against the Stockton Pearls Friday evening at Harry & David Field. (Andy Atkinson / for the Rogue Valley Times)
In the 11th, Cobarrubias made his way around the bases in similar fashion, and scored the winning run on an error by the Pearls.
On Sunday, after tying Stockton at 5-all with a run in the bottom of the sixth inning in a frame highlighted by a double from Alley, the Rogues sealed the Pearls’ fate in the bottom of the seventh thanks to a two-run single by Horsley, RBI efforts by Barto and Troy Osborne and a run scored by Alley after a wild pitch.
Reach sports editor Kris Henry at kris.henry@rv-times.com or 458-488-2035
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