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CLEAR Temp: 82 °F Wind: N at 4 mph Friday, August 29, 2003 SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map EXTRA HomeLife Magazine Joy Magazine Tempo A & E RogueValleyAutoFinder RogueValleyHomeFinder Real Estate Showcase Wellness Connection Newspaper in Education Prime Times Outdoor Journal Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People CLASSIFIEDS Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Find Everything E SOUTHERN OREGON Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar ABOUT US FAQ What's New Advertise Home Delivery Classified Ad Employment Contact Us Media Kit Email Story to a Friend August 6, 2003 Colts come up short in championship game PORTLAND — The South Medford Colts made an incredible run in the American Legion A state tournament. After losing their opening game in the eight-team, double-elimination event, the Colts won five straight and came within two outs of advancing to the Legion A regional in Spokane, Wash. But the North Salem Vikings defeated South Medford, 11-8, in 11 innings in a final elimination game to take the state championship Tuesday at Sckavone Stadium. "The kids are disappointed," South Medford coach Steve Antich said, "but when they look back on it, they’ll realize what an amazing season they had." The Colts handed North Salem its first loss of the tournament, 3-2, earlier in the day to force a final game. Advertisement "We set out to play some summer ball, get better and get more experience this season," Antich said. "This was way above and beyond our expectations." South Medford (30-10) held an 8-5 lead with one out in the ninth inning of the championship game when starting pitcher Tyler Heil walked two batters. Then Tony Sword bounced Heil’s first offering on top of the fence in right-center field for a three-run homer. Heil struck out the next two batters, but the Vikings had tied the game at 8-all. "Tyler walked two guys prior and tried to get ahead with a fastball on the first pitch," said Antich. After Tom George pitched a scoreless 10th for the Colts, Antich summoned the staff’s ace — Tim Holtz — to throw the 11th. Holtz pitched a five-hit, nine-inning complete game on just 76 pitches to keep the Colts’ hopes alive in the earlier contest Tuesday. And Antich hoped Holtz had a little more left in the tank. But North Salem jumped on him for four hits and three runs in the top of the 11th. Justin Hoffman delivered the big blow with a two-run double. "It was tough to ask Tim to come back in," said Antich. "He felt good and asked for the baseball." The Colts had the momentum going their way earlier in the final game by taking a 4-0 lead on a pair of runs in the second and third innings. North Salem battled back to score four runs to tie the game in the sixth, then went ahead on tournament most valuable player Tyler Lewis’ solo home run in the eighth. South Medford demonstrated its own resolve by scoring four runs in the bottom of the inning on RBI singles by Holtz, Heil, Evan Norris and Dan Chancler to take an 8-5 advantage into the ninth. Both Holtz and Andy Narus went 3-for-6 to pace the Colts’ 14-hit attack. "North Salem was down three with two outs to go, but they refused to give up," said Antich. "They’re an excellent team. They pretty much powered their way through the tournament before the two games with us." In the opening game, South Medford scored three runs in the first inning and that proved to be all Holtz needed. "There was no way I thought three runs would be enough," said Antich. "Tim did a great job of keeping us in there." The Colts got the three-run rally going when Narus and Logan Boyd walked with one out. Then Holtz provided an RBI single and Heil drove in two more on a base hit. Antich had no qualms about the Colts’ performance during the five-day event. "It was disappointing not to finish it off, but we played great baseball," he said. "We only made two errors in the entire tournament. "We were within an eyelash of winning state," he added. "That was amazing since we lost our first game. We pushed that team to the brink of sending them home." FIRST GAME South Medford.....................300 000 000 — 3 8 0 North Salem.........................001 000 010 — 2 5 3 Holtz and Meyer; Canute and Ekland. W — Holtz (8-2). L — Canute. 2B — SM: Meyer; NS: Costillo. SECOND GAME North Salem.................000 004 013 03 — 11 7 2 South Medford.............022 000 040 00 — 8 14 0 Lewis, Sword (7), Will (8) and Ekland; Heil, George (10), Holtz (11) and Meyer. W — Will. L — Holtz (8-3). 2B — NS: Hoffman, Lewis 2, Ekland; SM: Narus, Holtz. HR — NS: Lewis, Sword. 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