Medford Rogues split season-opening twin bill with Seattle
Published 12:02 am Saturday, May 30, 2026, CLICK HERE for full story
Ashland’s Jackson Rosenthal drives in two during Game 2 win by Rogues
After seeing their series opener pushed back a day to set up a doubleheader Friday night at Harry & David Field, the Rogues and Studs lived up to that billing as Seattle won the first seven-inning game 3-2, and Medford returned the favor with a 4-2 win in Game 2.
The Studs built a 3-0 lead through 6 ½ innings in the opener — highlighted by a solo home run in the second inning by Jackson Copeland — before the Rogues began to chip away in the bottom of the seventh.
Evan Saito came through with a bases-loaded single to drive home Kian Sanchez and open the scoring for Medford in the seventh, and Diego Gabriel plated Chris Ortiz on an ensuing fielder’s choice before Seattle was able to mitigate the damage.
The Rogues outhit the Studs in Game 1 by a 6-2 margin, with Ortiz going 2-for-3, but a combined six walks allowed created extra opportunities for Seattle.
Dylan Fanelli allowed two hits in 4 ⅓ innings with four strikeouts and five walks, while Central Point’s Hayden Kindreich didn’t allow a hit in 1 ⅔ innings of relief. Will Salihar was tagged with the eventual winning run by Seattle without virtue of allowing a hit after a walk, wild pitch, stolen base and sacrifice fly made it 3-0 in the seventh.
In Game 2, Medford scored in four of its six innings at the plate to support a solid pitching performance from starter Lorenzo Lew and reliever Caleb Randolph, another former Crater standout. Lew allowed four hits with six strikeouts and three walks in 5 ⅓ innings, and Randolph closed the door by allowing only one hit with three strikeouts the rest of the way.
Ashland’s Jackson Rosenthal supplied RBI singles in the second and fourth innings, while Anthony Thomas Jr. and Jaden Neugebauer also drove home runs for the Rogues (1-1).
Copeland had two of Seattle’s five hits in Game 2.
The series resumes at 6:35 p.m. Saturday, with a pregame concert by Cody Ponder from 4:30-6 p.m. as a spotlight to the Rogues’ Country Night promotion. Ponder was a former standout wrestler and football player at Crater High, and a decorated Jackson County Sheriff’s Office deputy.