Medford Mustangs put versatility on display in Coach K openers
Published 8:53 am Friday, June 27, 2025
Medford pounds out 17 hits in rout of Salem before using small-ball approach to slip past Idaho Falls
Medford proved yet again that there is more than one way to win a baseball game, spraying the ball all over the ballpark to start the day before using a little small-ball bunting later on to sweep the Mustangs’ opening games of the eighth annual Coach K Memorial Classic.
Sean McFall slides into second base safe for the Medford Mustangs against Salem during the Coach K Memorial Classic in Eagle Point Thursday. (Andy Atkinson / for the Rogue Valley Times)
Day 1 of the event honoring former Mustangs manager Sandee Kensinger, who died at the age of 59 on Aug. 14, 2017, saw Medford pound out 17 hits in a 20-0, five-inning victory over the Salem Wellcare Dodgers in the afternoon and then steadily chip away for a 6-2 win over Idaho Falls late into the night in Eagle Point.
“It was two good wins,” said second-year Mustangs manager John King. “In the first game, we got to play some guys that don’t get a lot of time out in the field, which is always good and I like to do that for them when we go play in tournaments. We knew that the second game was going to be a big one for us against Idaho Falls, and the guys did a good job of finishing that one out.”
Medford (17-2) will return to Eagle Point High at 7 p.m. Friday for another tough contest against the Reno Knights, then close its run in the tournament Saturday with a 7 p.m. game against the Corvallis Gerding Builders. The full tournament runs through Sunday.
“I told the kids tonight that it’s not going to get any easier,” said King, “and the reason that we do this stuff is because of games like this. All it’s going to do is make us better, and I thought that we got better tonight.”
Thursday’s opener got off to a fast start with a 3-0 lead through one inning, then skyrocketed with eight runs or more in the third and fourth innings to enforce the 10-run mercy rule in the fifth.
Medford Mustangs second baseman Dominic Daffron makes a play for an out against Salem during the Coach K Memorial Classic in Eagle Point Thursday. (Andy Atkinson / for the Rogue Valley Times)
The offensive numbers were nothing new — Medford (17-2) entered the matchup with Salem averaging 10 runs per game over its last nine outings — but put the team’s overall depth on display as the regular fielding lineup saw others step into their respective roles and shine.
Other than one error, the Mustangs were smooth in the field and the hits flowed freely in support of starting pitcher Macen Baker, who went the distance to allow only two hits with no walks and four strikeouts.
Jack Knips and Easton Douglas each drove home four runs, with Knips going 3-for-3 with two runs scored, while Brady Patterson went 3-for-4 with three runs and two RBIs and Kellen Willer was 2-for-4 with two runs and three RBIs.
The Mustangs also saw Freeman Rountree go 2-for-3 with two runs and two RBIs, Sean McFall go 2-for-3 with three runs and two RBIs and Dominic Daffron finished 2-for-3 with two runs and one RBI in the rout.
Against Idaho Falls, however, Medford had to be on its toes from the start as the Bandits tallied two runs in the top of the first inning — with the benefit of a little lack of communication in the field by the Mustangs.
Medford trimmed its deficit when Keller Bloodworth plated Easton Curtis on an RBI groundout in the bottom half of the frame, then got a little crafty with the sun going down to bunt their way to victory. The Mustangs scored in all but one inning they came to the plate, using sacrifice bunts by Patterson and McFall to generate runs in the early going before a series of three bunts in four at-bats helped create a four-run cushion with two more runs in the bottom of the sixth.
“The way that the sun sets here,” noted King, “it’s really, really hard to hit like at 8:30 in that area. We got first and third and I wanted to at least make sure we tied it up that (second) inning with the opportunity, so we push bunted and got a run home to tie it.”
“The sun was still there (in the third), hitters were having trouble and we had another opportunity to do it again, so I did it again.”
Medford Mustangs starter Macen Baker delivers a pitch against the Salem Wellness Dodgers during the Coach K Memorial Classic in Eagle Point Thursday. (Andy Atkinson / for the Rogue Valley Times)
The sixth-inning small ball was akin to the old adage that if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
“They were having trouble with it, and we were kind of putting it in good spots so we just kind of rolled with it tonight,” said King. “It’s not the way that we’ve been scoring runs this year. I love to bunt and I always tell my teams that if you can usually get a drag bunt down successfully or a push bunt, it’s just devastating to a team. If you can get one of those down, usually you’re going to score a run and a lot of times you’ll get a crooked number in that inning.”
“But, gosh, with the team that we have, it’s fun to watch us hit so I’ve been kind of fighting myself making sure that I don’t do that,” he added. “But tonight, I thought that gave us the best opportunity to score with the way it was so hard for the hitters to see.”
After the first-inning outburst by Idaho Falls, Medford starter Evan Rhoden was spectacular in putting up goose eggs over the final six innings. Rhoden allowed three hits overall with two walks and four strikeouts. He hit the first two Bandits that came to the plate in the top of the seventh to make things interesting but, after a meeting on the mound with Mustangs pitching coach Brett Wolfe, Rhoden came back to record a strikeout and induced a game-ending double play turned by McFall at third base to Keegan Painter at second base and Tristan Mallari at first base.
“Evan pitched great tonight,” said King. “He gave up two runs in the first when it really should’ve just been one, we just didn’t communicate, but really did a good job of executing his pitches. He pitched really well in his last game, too, so hopefully he’s getting into that groove that we think he can get into.”
Jack Knips rounds third base to score for the Medford Mustangs against Salem during the Coach K Memorial Classic in Eagle Point Thursday. (Andy Atkinson / for the Rogue Valley Times)
Painter went 3-for-3 with one run scored and Mallari was 2-for-3 with one run scored, while Bloodworth supplied a pair of RBI groundouts to pace Medford in Game 2.
Reach sports editor Kris Henry at kris.henry@rv-times.com or 458-488-2035
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