Varsity 541

PREP BASEBALL

Sowers saves best for last

Junior catcher belts three-run walk-off home run to rally North Medford in SWC opener

North Medford junior Colin Sowers went a little bit out of character Tuesday afternoon, and the Black Tornado faithful couldn't have been happier.

A fiery competitor who portrays the same controlled demeanor whether he's up or down, Sowers couldn't contain himself after his final at-bat in North Medford's Southwest Conference opener against Roseburg.

The second-year starter had a reason to shout, however. He had just hit his first-ever home run as a member of the Black Tornado, and he picked a fine time to do it. Sowers' three-run homer with one out in the bottom of the seventh inning sent North Medford to a clutch 7-5 victory over the Indians in a battle of two of the top Class 6A baseball teams in the state.

"I don't even know how to put it into words right now," said Sowers. "I've never hit a walk-off home run like that."

His celebration certainly showed his excitement, with Sowers sprinting around the bases almost as fast as the no-doubt shot cleared the scoreboard in left field.

"I just put a good swing on a good pitch like we're supposed to because that's what coach (Brett) Wolfe preaches," said Sowers. "As soon as I hit it, I knew. It was probably the most exhilarating thing I've ever done."

And the lightning fast home run trot?

"I just wanted to go hang out with my team," he added with a laugh.

Sowers' blast capped a weird game that saw North Medford bolt to a 4-0 first-inning lead but had Roseburg scratch back for three runs in the fourth and two more in the fifth to claim a 5-4 lead.

"After that first inning we talked and kind of regrouped and said if we can keep them at four, we'll have a chance to win this game," said Roseburg coach Troy Thompson. "That was the position we were in in the seventh and, unfortunately for us, it didn't happen for us in the seventh inning."

Cody James got things started in the seventh for North (12-1, 1-0 SWC) with a one-out single up the middle. Matt Maurer followed with a grounder that took a bad hop past second baseman Tyler Bullock for a single to put runners at first and second for Sowers.

The junior catcher had yet to post a clean hit on the day, driving in a run on a fielder's choice in the first before grounding out to second and walking in his only other at-bats. He worked the count to 3-1 and thought he had drawn a walk on the next pitch by Roseburg starter Brandon Jackson, but it was deemed a strike. After fouling off the next offering, Sowers crushed Jackson's 132nd pitch of the game for the game-winner.

"Colin's been turning on the ball the last couple weeks in practice and with this wind, I just had a good feeling there," said North coach Brett Wolfe. "He turned on a couple in practice just like that so you could kinda see that happening."

Even given his previous at-bats where the ball never got out of the infield, Sowers said he had plenty of confidence in his last opportunity.

"It's not about outcome, it's about execution," he said. "So we're not worried about if we're failing in the middle of the game because we know there's more opportunities, and there's no time that we're done until the game's over."

Thompson could only tip his hat to Sowers and the Black Tornado after the game, noting that there were no thoughts of turning the ball over to someone else despite Jackson's elevated pitch count.

"It was kind of his game to win," said Thompson, whose team dropped to 6-3 overall and 0-1 in league play. "That's how we talked about it with Brandon and felt good about where he was at. It just didn't work out for us in the seventh inning, and you've got to credit their hitters for doing a good job, too."

James drove in Hayden Wolfe and Chris Bradshaw with a first-inning double, and the Tornado also scored on groundouts by Sowers and Mark Cokenour to put itself in prime position.

"This was probably one of the games of the year for us," said Sowers of the quick start. "We were looking forward to it and were prepared."

Maurer cruised through the first three innings with four strikeouts and only one hit allowed, but Roseburg used a bloop double by Derek Priestley and a two-run single by Josh Davis to draw within 4-3 in the fourth.

An RBI triple by Mitch Huff and an RBI single by Ampi put the Indians on top in the fifth.

Brady Shipley sat Roseburg down in order in relief of Maurer in the seventh, and picked up his fourth win thanks to Sowers' blast.

Roseburg 000 320 0 — 5 7 1

North Medford 400 000 3 — 7 8 0

Jackson and Ampi; Maurer, Shipley (7) and Sowers. W — Shipley (4-1). L — Jackson (3-1). 2B — R: Huff, Priestley; NM: James. 3B — R: Huff. HR — NM: Sowers (1).

Reach reporter Kris Henry at 776-4488, or e-mail khenry@mailtribune.com