MEDFORD, Ore. — After leading Campbellsville in 2017 by hitting .321,
Clay Valenzuela-Reece has continued his pace this summer by leading the highly touted Medford Rogues to first-place in the Great West Standings.
Reece, who will be a senior in 2018, is hitting .379 this summer in the Great West League (GWL), which hosts teams from Oregon and California.
The Rogues lead the GWL with a 28-11 record and has a two-game lead in the standings after winning seven of their last 10 games.
Reece has been on a tear of late, though. The Oregon City, Ore. native extended his hit streak to 16 games after going 2-for-5 in Thursday night's 5-4 victory over the Chico Heat.
During the hit streak, Reece is 29-of-65 (.446) and has driven in 13 of his 18 RBI. The streak is also the longest in Rogues history, which started in 2014.
But it hasn't been just Reece that has been seeing the ball well. He has a strong offense that is right on his heels, including Jake Hellweg (Bethune Cookman), Davis Delorefice (Utah), and Alex Isola (Utah), and returning veterans Connor Lowrie (Blackhawk JC), Johnny DeLaCruz (Louisiana-Monroe), and Dylan Pearce (Oregon State).
"I think the team has come together really well in a short period of time," said Reece. "We play together really well, and that leads to the wins that we have."
In the 35 games with the Rogues, Reece has 53 hits - four doubles - in 140 at bats. He is sixth on the team with 18 RBI, fourth in OPS (.851), fifth in slugging percentage (.407) and third in on-base-percentage (.444).
Reece is one of three Tigers on the Rogues roster this summer.
DJ Wilson and
Malik Evans, both right-handed pitchers, have seen action on the hill. Wilson is 0-1 in five games out of the bullpen, tossing 4.2 innings. Evans has a 2-3 record in 9.2 innings with seven strikeouts.
The Rogues are on the road for a three-game series at the Chico Heat through Saturday. You can follow the team on social media - Twitter and Instagram, @MedfordRogues;
