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Phoenix slides past Junction City Mail Tribune photo / Roy Musitelli Phoenix's Amanda Todd, right, slides safely into second base under the tag of Junction City's Ashley Fielder in Wednesday's game. Pitcher Tiffany Ross leads the Pirates to their first playoff win in five years By KRIS HENRY Mail Tribune Armed with two varieties of drop ball, a riser, straight fastball and changeup, Tiffany Ross used each to sketch out seven innings of artistry as eighth-ranked Phoenix put a frame on Junction City's season with a 5-2 win in the second round of the Class 3A state softball playoffs. "There's nobody else I'd rather see out there," said first-year Phoenix coach Bill Shearin. "We want Tiffany having the ball. "She's got five very legitimate pitches and spots the ball well with all of them. She just sets hitters up so well. There was a strikeout on every single pitch that she has." The sturdy 5-foot-11 right-hander finished with nine strikeouts and allowed six singles to go with one walk. The Pirate ace sat down the Tigers in order four times and twice went four-deep. In her time outside the circle, Ross also ripped an RBI triple to give Phoenix a 1-0 lead in the first inning and drove in the eventual game-winner in the third. Not too shabby for a recently-turned 17-year-old who last pitched the Pirates into the playoffs two years ago and Wednesday helped Phoenix, which received a first-round bye, earn its first playoff victory since a quarterfinals run in 1997. "This is huge for our little town of Phoenix," said Ross. "This is such an honor for us. First we win our first (Skyline Conference) title since 1984 and now this. It's just incredible." That type of post-game exhilaration is exactly what Ross was gunning for entering the contest. "We were in the playoffs my freshman year and we went out in the first round," recalled Ross. "I really didn't want to do that again." For their efforts, the Pirates (19-8) now have the right to take on top-ranked Stayton in a quarterfinals matchup at 4:30 p.m. Friday at Hagler-James Field. Stayton edged seventh-ranked Scappoose, 2-1, on Wednesday. Despite a lack of playoff experience, Phoenix showed no signs of jitters as the Pirates took a 1-0 lead when junior center fielder Jamie Escobar was hit by a pitch and Ross followed with a slicing shot that sailed over the head of right fielder Megan McDonald and nestled into the corner of the fence for an RBI triple. "They were fired up from the start," Shearin said of his Pirates. "Our team doesn't sing a lot of songs or do a lot of chants, but they fire up really well. That's their method of play, they get noisy with how they play. "I'm just happy to be on the ride with them. They're carrying me, that's for sure." Junction City broke through for the first and only time in the third inning, notching three of its six hits. The Tigers opened with a leadoff single by first baseman Abby Jorgenson and a walk to shortstop Ashley Fielder. Struggling a bit with her control for the first time, mostly on risers, Ross next allowed an RBI single by starting pitcher Lacey Wade and an RBI single by catcher Mae Swisher before settling down to limit the Pirates' deficit to 2-1. Undaunted, Phoenix rallied at the plate in its half of the third, setting the table with a one-out double by junior shortstop Jennifer Dunlap and a bloop single by junior third baseman Christina Saldivar that turned into runners on second and third when Saldivar pulled off a delayed steal on the play. Escobar immediately traded places with Saldivar on a stretched-out RBI single, and Ross followed with a fielder's choice grounder to second base that plated Saldivar for a 3-2 Phoenix lead. "My team is just awesome this year and has so much heart," Ross said. "We've got girls who, no matter where we are in the lineup, I know they're going to pull through for us. We will never quit." Junction City showed it wasn't willing to throw in the towel either, but the Pirates never flinched as Ross grew stronger as the game wore on and her supporting defense was flawless. "We had our opportunities but we didn't take care of them," said Junction City coach Kathy Lighty. "We just didn't get timely hits against (Ross). You've got to put the ball in play and we just couldn't." Junction City maneuvered only one runner to second base after its third-inning surge, with a potential second Tiger player nabbed trying to steal second by Phoenix catcher Shannon Reed in the seventh. The defensive gem of the game, however, was offered up an inning earlier by Dunlap on a leadoff smash by Tigers third baseman Lindsey Smith. Breaking right on contact, Dunlap came up with a nifty backhander in the hole and then tossed out Smith thanks to a stretch by junior first baseman Kelsey Russell that would make yoga masters envious. "We had a couple real sparkler plays on defense," said Shearin. "That backhand by Jennifer Dunlap was a major-league play." Phoenix put the game away with two runs in the sixth against McDonald, who came on in relief of Wade when the senior's shoulder became too sore to pitch. Senior left fielder April Darby scored Russell on a fielder's choice after Russell singled to start the inning and advanced to third on an error by McDonald and a wild pitch. Senior second baseman Amanda Moore followed with an RBI single that scored senior right fielder Kendra Kohler, who reached base when McDonald threw her comebacker wide of second base trying to nab Russell. From there it was all Ross, who struck out three of the final four Tiger batters swinging. "I've been doing that since I was 8," Ross said of her late-inning velocity. "I get so into the game that my intensity and stuff just brings me to pitch even harder, I guess." Junction City....................................002 000 0 - 2 6 2 Phoenix............................................102 002 x - 5 8 0 Wade, McDonald (4) and Swisher; Ross and Reed. W - Ross (19-7). L - Wade. 2B - P: Dunlap. 3B - P: Ross. Reach reporter Kris Henry at 776-4488, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.