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Derda's hit sinks Phoenix in softball CAVE JUNCTION - Sydney Derda has produced some big hits for Illinois Valley this season. But the junior utility player hasn't had a bigger moment than Tuesday's game-winning single against Phoenix in Skyline Conference softball. Derda's one-out run-scoring hit in the bottom of seventh carried Illinois Valley to an important 4-3 victory over the Pirates. The win gives the Cougars (13-6, 11-4 Skyline) sole possession of second in the conference standings, breaking a three-way tie with Phoenix (13-6, 10-5 Skyline) and Rogue River going into the day. "Sydney is one of our real bright spots," Illinois Valley coach Gary Pope said. "Her bat has come through in a couple of crisis situations. She steps up in the clutch." Phoenix scored a pair of unearned runs in the sixth inning to forge ahead 3-2 in the see-saw game. Illinois Valley almost escaped from a bases-loaded, no-out jam, but a two-out error allowed the Pirates to score twice. The Cougars tied the game in the bottom of the sixth on a single by Derda, a single by Julie Shump and Vanessa Box's RBI single. In the seventh, Ivy Fink drew a walk from Phoenix pitcher Tiffany Ross to open the inning. Rachel Pierce singled with one out, then Derda followed with a single up the middle to clinch the victory. "This was a pivotal game for the state playoffs," said Pope, whose team has the tiebreaker against both Phoenix and Rogue River. "We've come from behind three or four times and won games. Our girls believe it's not over until the last out is made." Phoenix..................................................100 002 0 - 3 3 2 Illinois Valley......................................000 201 1 - 4 9 3 Ross and Reed; Pierce, Hamilton (5) and Nadow. W - Hamilton. L - Ross. NORTH VALLEY 7, HIDDEN VALLEY 3 - At Murphy, senior pitcher Rachel Wardlaw took a perfect game into the sixth inning as North Valley (10-10, 7-8 Skyline) clinched its best season since 1996. Wardlaw allowed Hidden Valley only two hits, but one of them was a bases-clearing three-run double to Mustang senior catcher Elissa Hayworth. Wardlaw struck out nine, walked one and allowed one earned run. Sophomore catcher Michelle Beck led the Knights with two hits and two runs, while Karen Allen and Rita Long each collected one hit and two RBIs. North Valley.........................................310 030 0 - 7 7 2 Hidden Valley.......................................000 003 0 - 3 2 5 Wardlaw and Beck; Ricks and Hayworth. W - Wardlaw (7-7). L - Ricks. 2B - HV: Hayworth. HENLEY 3, ROGUE RIVER 1 - At Rogue River, timely hitting and solid pitching by the Hornets led them to a Skyline Conference win over the Chieftains. With two outs in the third inning the Hornets scored two runs off two singles and an error by the Chieftains. Krystal Young pitched all seven innings for the Hornets (16-2, 13-2 Skyline) and tallied three strikeouts to pick up her 11 win on the season. Kristin Frederick had a double for the Chieftains, who fell to 10-5 in Skyline play. Henley...................................................002 000 1 - 3 4 1 Rogue River.........................................000 001 0 - 1 2 2 Young and Mills; Glasscock and Bailey. W - Young (11-1), L - Bailey. 2B - RR: Frederick. LAKEVIEW 7, MAZAMA 1 - At Lakeview, Stacia Kemp had two hits and three RBIs as Lakeview ended a five-game losing streak. Lakeview erased a one-run deficit with five runs in the second inning. Kemp had a two-run double and Corey Saltmarsh added a two-run single during the Honkers' outburst. Mazama................................................100 000 0 - 1 5 2 Lakeview.............................................052 000 x - 7 7 0 Valiton, Chastain (2) and Mishler; Johnson and Moulton. W - Johnson. L - Valiton. 2B - L: Kemp. District 6 CASCADE CHRISTIAN 8, CRATER JV 0 - At Central Point, Laural Kelley pitched a two-hit shutout to led Cascade Christian to a non-conference win. Kelley struck out a season- high 15 to pick up her sixth win. Erin Eselin hit a two-run triple to put the Challengers (7-6, 6-2 District 5) on the board in the fourth inning. Rebekah Gettman went 2-for-3 for the Challengers and scored three runs. Cascade Christian..............................000 303 2 - 8 6 1 Crater JV..............................................000 000 0 - 0 2 3 Kelley and R. Gettman; Love and Peabody. W - Kelley (6-3), L - Love. 3B - CC: Eselin. ST. MARY'S 24, PHOENIX JV 2 - At Talent, senior pitcher Lani Brophy allowed only three hits and one earned run in the five-inning non-league game in addition to collecting four hits, four runs and three RBIs. The Crusaders (11-4) had a trio of players with three hits each led by senior catcher Shawna Jackson, who scored five runs. Sarah Fetty had three hits and three RBIs and Libby Trum had three hits and scored three times. St. Mary's..........................................34(12) 50 - 24 23 2 Phoenix JV.......................................00 0 20 - 2 3 5 Brophy and Jackson; Wiltrout and Singleton. W - Brophy (5-3). L - Wiltrout. 2B - SM: Jackson 2, Brophy. 3B - SM: Brophy. Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.