Mustangs see tying run erased at home plate by Nuggets in electric ending to opener before dominating Game 2

The response was all a baseball manager could hope for Monday night.

The only potential issue is that there was a need for a response at all for the Medford Mustangs during Area 4 play at Harry & David Field.

Medford salvaged a split in a doubleheader with the visiting Grants Pass Nuggets with a dominant Game 2 effort, shrugging off the sting of losing the opener after a game-ending play at the plate kept the tying run from registering to complete a comeback bid.

“Area 4 is tough,” said Mustangs manager John King. “There’s really no easy games going into these (doubleheaders), because every night you’re going to get everyone’s best game — because no one wants to play in that (state) play-in game.”

The Mustangs (8-1, 1-1 Area 4) put three runs on the board in their final at-bat in Game 1 but fell short in wild fashion for a 5-4 loss, but responded with strong pitching from Dominic Daffron and a much more opportunistic offense in Game 2 for a 10-0, five-inning victory.

“We kinda talked in between games on how are we going to respond to that,” King said of his team’s first loss this season, “and they responded well. I just told them let’s carry what we did in that last inning into Game 2 and let’s see what happens if we can do that. If we can throw strikes and do that, I think that we’ll be fine, and we did both of them in the second game.”

Monday’s opener had the feel of a team coming off its first long road trip of the season, with Medford experiencing a few defensive cracks and the bats not quite operating as efficiently as they had during a 5-0 tournament run in California last Friday-Sunday.

“That’s one of the things about playing at Harry & David, if you get the ball up in the air you’re not going to be rewarded there,” said King. “We try to focus a lot when we’re on that field on line drives and groundballs, because the ball just doesn’t carry there.”

Two hit batters and a Grants Pass error led to the Mustangs scoring their only run through the first six innings on a sacrifice fly by Keegan Painter.

Conversely, Medford starter Evan Rhoden had to fight through a consistent barrage of pressure by the Nuggets — some self-induced, some not — to keep his team with a fighting chance at victory. Rhoden allowed four runs (three earned) on six hits with four walks, one hit batter and one strikeout through five innings.

“Evan didn’t have his best stuff today,” said King, “but it’s hard to win a baseball game when you score one run, and basically that’s what we did until the seventh inning.”

Cade Pettersen came off the bench to limit GP to one run on two hits with three strikeouts and two walks in two innings, but that meant the Nuggets were able to carry a 5-1 lead into the bottom of the seventh.

South Medford product Jedidiah Robertson took over for Grants Pass starter Logan Zavolta in the seventh after the latter had scattered four hits, and the tide shifted somewhat due to a sense of urgency by the Mustangs and a few wayward offerings that allowed Medford to load the bases with one out.

Painter drew a one-out walk before Robertson was able to induce leadoff hitter Easton Curtis into a groundout. Down to their last out, the Mustangs saw Jackson Rosenthal and Keller Bloodworth each get hit by a pitch to load the bases for Sean McFall.

Robertson was able to generate an 0-2 count before McFall stood steady to create a 2-2 situation. On the sixth pitch of the at-bat, the Eagle Point product was able to rip a triple to right field that just eluded a diving effort by Kasen Orr. As the ball continued to the fence, the bases cleared and King took a chance by waving McFall home, where a quick tag by catcher Nathan Bassett resulted in the final out.

“I’m just looking to see if he can hit his relay guy, and he didn’t,” King said of the throw from the outfield, “so I waved him home and we ended up with a bang-bang play, and it just didn’t go our way.”

Whatever disappointment was felt in that dusty wrap-up to the opener certainly didn’t linger for the Mustangs, who staked Daffron to a 3-0 lead after sending seven batters to the plate in the first inning of Game 2. Bloodworth had an RBI single and Grady Sickler later added a two-run single.

That was more than enough support for Daffron, who never faced more than four batters in an inning.

“If you give him a three-run lead, he’s going to be a little bit looser on the mound and he doesn’t have to throw to corners, he can throw to thirds,” said King.

Daffron was able to pitch to contact and allow an error-free defense to work their magic behind him, generating two double plays to go with four strikeouts against three walks and two hits allowed.

“Dom’s a guy that’s going to go out and compete,” said King. “He’s a guy that doesn’t really feel a lot of pressure when guys get on base, and he pitches himself out of jams that he gets himself into. He’s just a guy that’s going to compete as hard as he can to try and get people to put the ball in play. He’s not worried about strikeouts, he’d rather get a guy to groundout on the first pitch and move on to the next guy.”

The Mustangs were able to create their shot at ending the nightcap early due to the 10-run mercy rule with a six-run surge in the fourth inning, highlighted by a three-run triple by Brady Patterson after the North Medford product turned on a fastball that was up-and-in to hit over the head of right fielder Jack Matthews.

Patterson and Sickler each finished with three RBIs in Game 2 for the Mustangs, with Rosenthal going 2-for-2 with one run and two RBIs.

Medford jumps right back into the Area 4 fire with a doubleheader at 2:30 p.m. Wednesday against Roseburg Dr. Stewart’s at North Medford High, and then will return to the road for a tournament in Portland this coming Friday-Sunday.

The Mustangs will back that up with another doubleheader against the Nuggets — this one in Grants Pass — next Tuesday.

“It’s a lot of baseball,” King said of his team’s hectic early schedule, “but it gives us an opportunity to play some games and get to know each other a little bit better. And when we get up in these tournaments, it gives some other people an opportunity to get some at-bats and get some playing time to try and figure out those 10-12 guys that we’re really, really going to rely on.”

FIRST GAME

Grants Pass Nuggets 002 020 1 — 5  8  2

Medford Mustangs 010 000 3 — 4  5  3

Zavolta, Robertson (7) and Bassett; Rhoden, Pettersen (6) and Patterson. W — Zavolta. L — Rhoden. 2B — GP: B. Morgan; M: Bloodworth. 3B — M: McFall.

SECOND GAME

Grants Pass Nuggets 000 00 — 0  2  1

Medford Mustangs 310 6x — 10  8  0

Matthews, Mendes (4), Kissel (4) and Bassett; Daffron and Patterson. W — Daffron. L — Matthews. 3B — M: Patterson.

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