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Medford falls short in regional By Chuck Hickey SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. � The Medford American Little League team hit the end of the road in the Western Regional tournament on Wednesday, losing to Alameda, Calif., 10-0 in the fifth-place semifinals in front of about 200 fans at Al Houghton Stadium. The game was stopped after five innings because of the mercy rule. The 11- and 12-year-old all-stars finished 2-3 in the tournament, which determines the West�s entry in next week�s Little League World Series at Williamsport, Pa. Medford American finishes seventh out of about 1,600 leagues in the West. "I can�t be disappointed with these kids," manager Jeff Adamson said. "That�s a good team. But we played great, and I�m so proud of my kids. From what we�ve been through, I can�t say anything bad about them. "It�s a little disappointing to end like this, but from where we were six weeks ago, I�m really happy. These kids gave 110 percent, and as a manager, that�s all you can ask. They�re a great group of kids, and it�s sad that they won�t be together again." It was a tough tournament for Medford American. The team had a first-round bye and had to wait around for four days before playing its first game. It lost to Vancouver, Wash., 8-2 in the opener, then was eliminated from going to Williamsport by Reno, Nev., 15-5 in four innings. Vancouver plays Southern California champion Ocean View LL of Huntington Beach in the championship game at 8 p.m. today. The game will be aired live on ESPN2. Medford American was able to bounce back from its 0-2 tournament start with an 8-6 win over Ketchikan, Alaska, on Monday and a 7-5 win over Coeur d�Alene, Idaho, on Tuesday. Medford American had only two hits Wednesday against Alameda�s David Hobbs, who walked one and struck out four.Alameda broke the game open with five runs in the third inning to take a 7-0 lead. Alameda finished with 11 hits. "This has just been a really good team," Adamson said. "They�re all great athletes. And while it�s sort of a relief it�s all over, it would have been nice to play another game. But they gave all they had and they�re not down. It�s been a good run." Alameda, Calif.......................................025 03 � 10 11 2 Medford American................................000 00 � 0 2 1 Hobbs and Bahr, Wood (5); McCleery, Adams (5) and Happeny. HR � A: Shupe. Obituaries | Sports | Business | Classifieds | Tempo | Prime Times | So Oregon Sites | Outdoor Journal | Subscribe | Contact | Movies | Advertise | Real Estate Showcase | Archive | Editorials | Letters to the editor | Religion | Wake-up Call | NIE | Cyber Chef | Job Network | So Oregon Weather | WSJ Northwest | Forums | AP Wire | AP Money | F.A.Q. | Awards Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. The Community Newspaper Subsidiary of Dow Jones & Co, Inc Copyright �The Mail Tribune 2000, Medford, Oregon USA