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South sweeps Eagles Southern Oregon Conference-leading South Medford didn't allow itself to overlook last-place Eagle Point in Saturday's baseball doubleheader at Miles Field. The Panthers - who hold a one-game lead over three teams and have lost two non-league games to the Eagles - came away with a sweep. South posted 12-2 and 2-0 wins. "We knew we had to play solid baseball and let things take care of themselves," South coach Pete Whisler said. "We were somewhat leery. We knew if we didn't come in and take care of business, we could get thumped just like last week." Whisler referred to a sweep at the hands of Ashland last Saturday. In the opener, South ace Matt Skundrick got off to a shaky start. Skundrick walked the first three batters, hit the next and allowed a sacrifice fly to Kyle Gray for the Eagles' two runs. "He lost his composure early," said Whisler. "He had a couple of pitches that didn't go his way. That got to him, and he didn't do what he was supposed to do." Skundrick (7-3) ended with six strikeouts. Eagle Point's only hit came when Gray opened the second with a double. "Once he (Skundrick) found the strike zone, he started using his slider and breaking ball," said Whisler. "That makes his fastball a lot more effective." The Panthers got the two runs right back in the bottom of the first when John McCollum's two-out bloop single scored two runs. South combined six hits, a walk and an error to score seven runs in the third inning. Jimmie Maddox and Matt Smith each had two-run doubles to spark the outburst. Skundrick and St. Onge led South's attack with three hits and two RBIs apiece. Kevin O'Shea added two hits and two RBIs, while David Henneman had a multiple hit effort. Skundrick pitched the final 1� innings in the nightcap for the save for starter Clint Rodreick (6-2). South staked Rodreick to an early lead with five runs in the second inning. Maddox contributed a two-run single and Smith provided a two-run double during the rally. FIRST GAME Eagle Point................................................200 00 - 2 1 3 South Medford......................................207 03 - 12 14 1 Acrey, Farrell (3), Boyd (5) and Garrett; Skundrick and Smith. W - Skundrick (7-3). L - Acrey. 2B - SM: Maddox, Skundrick, Smith, St. Onge. SECOND GAME Eagle Point...........................................004 000 0 - 4 9 2 South Medford.....................................050 010 x - 6 9 2 Dupey, Gray (6) and Garrett; Rodreick, Skundrick (6) and Smith. W - Rodreick (6-2). L - Dupey. 2B - EP: Acrey, Gray; SM: Smith. * ASHLAND 4-3, GRANTS PASS 0-0 - At Ashland, pitching and defense helped make up for a sluggish offense as the Grizzlies swept an SOC doubleheader. Jayson Schroeder and Nick Ehlers combined for a three-hit shutout in the opener, and Mike Allen went the distance for a shutout in Game 2. The sweep helped Ashland (14-6, 7-3 SOC) remain tied for second in the SOC standings with North Medford. The Grizzlies managed six hits in each game but gave up only one walk in 14 innings to stymie the Cavemen (3-7 SOC). Ashland used a three-run second inning to break away from Grants Pass, with Schroeder scoring on a wild pitch and Ryan Decker and Torrance George adding RBIs. FIRST GAME Grants Pass...........................................000 000 0 - 0 3 2 Ashland.................................................030 001 x - 4 6 1 Rettke and Ortiz; Schroeder, Ehlers (5) and George. W - Schroeder (4-1). L - Rettke. 2B - GP: Draper, Voges. SECOND GAME Grants Pass...........................................000 000 0 - 0 3 2 Ashland.................................................111 000 x - 3 6 0 Howe and Richard; Allen and Cook. W - Allen (5-1). L - Howe. 2B - GP: York; A: Cook.. * NORTH MEDFORD 16-11, KLAMATH UNION 5-8 - At Klamath Falls, the Black Tornado put up 21 runs and 30 hits to sweep the Pelicans in an SOC doubleheader. In the first game, North's Evan McArthur hit a two-run home run in the second inning. The Tornado scored a season-high 11 runs in the inning. Jeff Mortenson blasted two home runs for Klamath Union, 2-8 in the SOC, in the first game. In the second game, Shawn Backstrom went 4-for-4, drove in five runs and stole two bases to lead North Medford (12-7, 7-3 SOC) to an 11-8 win. FIRST GAME North Medford................................0110 101 3 - 16 17 1 Klamath Union.....................................220 010 0 - 5 9 5 Kircher and Folsom; Caleb, McColl (2) and Ja. Mortenson, Anderson (6). W - Kircher (6-1), L - Caleb. 2B - NM: Folsom, Butler; KU: Mitchell. 3B - KU: Ja. Mortenson. HR - NM: McArthur, KU: Je. Mortenson 2. SECOND GAME North Medford..................................240 400 1 - 11 13 2 Klamath Union...................................220 003 1 - 8 13 4 Butler, McArthur (6) and Folsom; Baker, Landrum (4), James (5), Penunri (7), and Je. Mortenson. W - Butler (4-2), L - Baker. 2B - NM: Folsom, Kircher; KU: Caleb 2, Leeper, Lukkari. 3B - KU: Penunri. Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.