vs
| 03/16/24 - Home | 5-7 L |
| 03/18/23 - Away | 0-8 L |
| 03/18/23 - Away | 1-6 L |
| 04/01/22 - Away | 13-5 W |
| 04/18/19 - Home | 8-6 W |
| 03/16/19 - Home | 7-2 W |
Bend and North Medford are an even 3-3 against one another since March of 2019, but likely not for long. The Lava Bears will venture away from home to challenge the Black Tornado at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday. The two teams have allowed few runs on average (Bend 4, North Medford 3.5) so any runs scored will be well earned.
Bend's pitching crew heads into the contest hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Thursday. They came out on top against Lebanon by a score of 5-0. The win continues a trend for the Lava Bears in their matchups with the Warriors: they've now won three in a row.
Cash Hattenhauer made a splash no matter where he played. He looked comfortable on the mound, not allowing a single earned run and allowing only two hits while striking out nine over seven innings pitched. Hattenhauer was also big at the plate, scoring a run and stealing a base.
In other batting news, Cole Cooper was excellent, going 1-for-3 with one stolen base, one double, and one RBI. That double was his first of the season. Another player making a difference was Lewis Knapp, who scored two runs while getting on base in three of his four plate appearances.
Meanwhile, North Medford and South Medford faced off in a cross-town battle on Wednesday. The Black Tornado walked away with a 6-3 victory over the Panthers. Give some credit to the fans of both teams: the last six times they've met, the home team has come away the winner.
Like Bend, North Medford also got a great game from a two-way player: Dominic Daffron. On the mound, he tossed seven innings while giving up just one earned (and two unearned) runs off six hits. Daffron has been consistent recently: he hasn't given up more than two walks in three consecutive appearances. He was also solid in the batter's box, going 2-for-3 with three RBI. Those three RBI gave him a new career-high.
Daffron wasn't the only one making solid contact as six players wound up with at least one hit. One of them was Easton Curtis, who scored a run while going 2-for-4. Those two hits gave Curtis a new career-high.
North Medford pushed their record up to 5-1 with the win, which was their third straight at home. Those home victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 3.0 runs on average over those games. As for Bend, their record is now 7-1.
North Medford's pitching crew has a crucial task ahead of them: Bend hasn't had any issues making contact this season, having earned a batting average of .349. It's a different story for North Medford, though, as they've only averaged .241. Will they be able to contain Bend's hitters?
Bend couldn't quite finish off North Medford in their previous meeting back in March of 2024 and fell 7-5. Can the Lava Bears avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
