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Better late than never Mail Tribune photo / Roy Musitelli Phoenix starting pitcher Tiffany Ross uncoils a pitch during Tuesday's Skyline Conference matchup with Illinois Valley in Eagle Point. Phoenix rallies in its last at-bat to slip past Illinois Valley for a key conference win By TED BURNHAM for the Mail Tribune The game, originally scheduled for Phoenix's home field at Hagler-James Park, was moved here because of wet grounds. The Pirates were down 1-0 with two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning and had runners at third and first bases. Dunlap hit a high chopper past pitcher Kim Hamilton to bring home Kendra Kohler. The ball was fielded by shortstop Tiphanie Pope, whose throw to first was too late to catch Dunlap. First baseman Sydney Derda then tried to get Shannon Reed at third, but her throw was errant, sending Reed home with the winning run. "They have so much heart," Phoenix coach Bill Shearin said of his players. "They never feel like they are out of a ballgame ... They really believe in themselves, and that belief is just growing." Phoenix improved to 13-2 in the Skyline Conference while Illinois Valley dropped to 9-6. The Pirates have a one-half game lead over Rogue River (12-2 Skyline), which had its game against Henley postponed because of inclement weather. In cold, blustery conditions, Tiffany Ross (12-1) pitched a four-hitter to get the win for Phoenix. Hamilton, who relieved Sara Shinerock in the fourth inning, took the loss. Hamilton led the Cougars with two singles and an RBI. "We played games like this all the time last year," said Reed, a junior catcher. "We lost them. This time I think it was our turn. We never gave up." Shearin said Illinois Valley posed a threat from the get-go. "Illinois Valley is a tremendous team right now," he said. "Kim Hamilton is a very dangerous player." Illinois Valley kept the Pirates at bay for six innings with outstanding defense and pitching. "I didn't see anything too bad out there," Illinois Valley coach Gary Pope said. "Both teams played well. "We played some great defense. Ashley Holt made an incredible diving catch. But the pressure can force some players to (commit) some errors." In the first and second innings, Phoenix advanced runners to third base but couldn't get the runs across. Illinois Valley started the scoring in the third when Hamilton hit an RBI single to score Alyson Healing from second base. Healing had singled and stole second. Phoenix advanced runners to third base twice more, in the third and sixth innings. In the third, Dunlap reached on error, stole second and got to third on an error. In the sixth, Jamie Escobar led off with a single and pinch runner Shonda George stole second and third before Phoenix was retired. Phoenix had to use its final at-bat to do just enough to win. With one out, Kohler hit a line-drive single off Hamilton. Kohler later stole second and, with two outs and two strikes, Reed hit a single to put Kohler at third. The count was 1-1 when Dunlap hit the game-winner. "We had a player on third base four times before the (seventh)," Shearin said. "That was the fifth time we had a runner at third base. It was pretty scary. Phoenix travels Friday to take on Lakeview (4-9 Skyline) in a doubleheader. Illinois Valley plays a doubleheader on Saturday at Hidden Valley (1-13 Skyline). Illinois Valley.................................... 001 000 0 - 1 4 2 Phoenix............................................. 000 000 2 - 2 5 3 Shinerock, Hamilton (4) and Coultas; Ross and Reed. W - Ross. L - Hamilton. Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.