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Explosive No. 1 North takes a pair from South Thirty hits and two dominating pitching performances boosted top-ranked North Medford to a Southern Oregon Conference softball doubleheader sweep Saturday. The Black Tornado defeated South Medford 13-0 and 14-1 at Fagone Field. "Right now, we're hitting the ball awfully well," North Medford coach Larry Binney said. "But we're not seeing great, great pitching." The victories improved North's SOC record to 6-0 and 12-1 overall. South fell to 1-5 in the SOC and 4-10 overall. North's firepower was evident wire-to-wire as it scored in five of its seven turns at-bat in both games. "They're just that solid of a group offensively," said South Medford coach Duke Mondale. "I think they had one strikeout the whole day. They were up there to swing the bat and it all begins with how well (Kylie) Allen and (Megumi) Hackett put it into play." The Tornado scored five times in the top of the fourth to open up a 9-0 lead then added four more runs in the top of the seventh. In the second game, North took a 4-0 lead after two innings then capped off the day with six runs in the top of the seventh. That kind of support made things easy for sophomore pitcher Steph Coe in the opener and senior Becky Walker in the nightcap. Coe fanned six and walked two, while throwing a three-hit shutout. The only hit allowed by Walker was a first-inning single to Kristal Capsey. She struck out four and walked three to notch her sixth win. Hackett, who was Oregon's player of the year last spring, scored eight runs, reached base nine of 10 times she stepped to the plate and was 6-for-9 officially. She stole six bases and had two RBIs. Jenny Close poked her second home run in as many Saturdays, finding the left-center gap in the second game. Close was 4-for-8 with three runs and two RBIs. "Jenny Close has been a big boost for us the way she's swinging the bat," Binney said. Allen was 5-for-10 with five runs scored, two RBIs and two stolen bases. Jill Carrigan was 5-for-10 with an RBI and a run. Steph Adams was 4-for-8, four RBIs and four runs scored. FIRST GAME North Medford ...211 500 4 -- 13 14 1 South Medford ......000 000 0 -- 0 3 2 Coe and Glantz; Calvert and Herring. W -- Coe (5-1). L -- Calvert (3-5). 2B -- NM: Hackett, Coe, Glantz. HR -- NM: Close (2). SECOND GAME North Medford ...320 102 6 -- 14 16 1 South Medford ......000 001 0 -- 1 1 3 Walker and Glantz, Close (6); Calvert and Herring. W -- Walker (6-0). L -- Calvert (3-6). 2B -- NM: Allen. 3B -- NM: Close. ASHLAND 4-4, EAGLE POINT 0-3 -- At Ashland, Kristen Strait tossed a five-hit shutout in the opener and helped her own cause with a two-run first inning double. Strait (5-2) also picked up the victory in the second game with a two-inning relief stint. Gracie Rowland-Dunn opened Ashland's three-run first inning rally in game 1 with a triple. Megan Humann reached base on an error, then stole second to put runners on second and third. Strait followed with the two-run double and scored on an RBI single by Amy Williams, who went 3-for-3 in the game. Ashland (6-5, 3-3 SOC) completed the sweep by scoring the winning run in the bottom of the seventh inning of game 2. Christina Cooley singled with one out, stole second and went to third on an error. Emily Clason followed with a game-winning single. Rowland-Dunn collected two hits for the Grizzlies, while Stacy Horn had two hits for the Eagles in the nightcap. FIRST GAME Eagle Point .......000 000 0 -- 0 5 2 Ashland ............300 100 x -- 4 5 1 Horn and Josephson; Strait and Clason. W -- Strait. L -- Horn. 2B -- A: Strait. 3B -- A: Rowland-Dunn. SECOND GAME Eagle Point ......002 000 1 -- 3 6 5 Ashland ...........110 001 1 -- 4 7 0 Brewington, Horn (1) and Josephson; Williams, Strait (6) and Clason. W -- Strait (5-2). L -- Horn. 2B -- EP: Mapes, Horn; A: Williams. CRATER 7-3, KLAMATH UNION 5-2 -- At Klamath Falls, Crater senior Val Lammon provided an offensive boost in the opener, while junior pitcher Andrea Perdue picked up a save and victory. Lammon banged out three of Crater's 15 hits in game 1. The senior infielder scored twice and added one RBI. Kara Ray and Rachel Hernandez each had two hits for the Comets and combined for three RBIs in the opener. Klamath Union (5-10, 0-6 SOC) cut into Crater's 7-0 lead with five runs in the fourth. Tashina Skeen's two-run double and Sarah Stacy's two RBI single highlighted the rally. Perdue came into subdue the Pelicans in the opener, then pitched a five-hit complete game in the nightcap. In the second game, Crater scored what proved to be the winning run in the fourth inning with two outs and nobody on base. Hernandez singled, stole second and scored on an RBI single by Amy Sparks. FIRST GAME Crater ..............023 200 0 -- 7 15 1 Klamath Union ..000 500 0 -- 5 8 1 Ray, Perdue (4) and Hillyer; Parker and Ball. W -- Ray. L -- Parker. 2B -- C: Wiley, Hernandez; KU: Fagan, Skeen. SECOND GAME Crater ..............020 100 0 -- 3 10 1 Klamath Union ...02 000 0 -- 2 5 3 Perdue and Lammon; Parker and Ball. W -- Perdue. L -- Parker (3-5). 2B -- C: Wiersma. ROSEBURG 2-9, GRANTS PASS 1-0 -- At Roseburg, Brynnen Guthrie's bases-loaded RBI single in the bottom of the eighth carried Roseburg to the victory in the opener, and Molly Liston completed the sweep with a four-hit shutout. Erin Goodell went 3-for-4 with one RBI to lead the Indians. For Grants Pass, Gabby Rathburn collected three hits and scored once and Mary Barbian added two hits and three stolen bases. In game 2, Liston struck out seven and walked four to register her third victory against one loss. Allison Courter's three-run double staked the Indians to a 3-0 lead in the third inning. Then Carrie Daugherty sparked a six-run sixth with a two-run triple. Center fielder Teresa Darland had two hits for Grants Pass. FIRST GAME Grants Pass .........000 001 00 -- 1 6 0 Roseburg ...........001 000 01 -- 2 10 0 Heater and Rathburn; Nelson and Fullerton. W -- Nelson (6-1). L -- Heater. 2B -- R: Goodell. 3B -- GP: Rathburn; R: Goodell. SECOND GAME Grants Pass ..........000 000 0 -- 0 4 0 Roseburg ............003 006 x -- 9 10 0 Heater and Rathburn; Liston and Fullerton. W -- Liston (3-1). L -- Heater. 2B -- R: Courter. 3B -- R: Daugherty. Today's Sports Index Mail Tribune Copyright� The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, OR U.S.A.