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46 °F Forecast | Road Cams Tuesday, April 5, 2005 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion Tempo AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map SPECIAL SECTIONS Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Menu Guide How To Guide Health Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Real Estate Guide Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Wedding Guide Passport to the Rogue Valley SHOP OUR VALLEY AutoFinder HomeFinder JobFinder Classified Place an ad TOP JOBS EXTRA Ashland News NIE Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People Volunteer Moving here? eSouthernOregon CUSTOMER SERVICE FAQ's Advertise with us Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend April 3, 2005 Eagle Point�s Terrah Whipple slides into second ahead of North Medford�s Rachelle Willden�s tag after hitting a double. Whipple later scored the winning run to help the Eagles beat the Black Tornado. Mail Tribune / Andrew Mariman Eagles go overtime, nip North Eagle Point snaps losing skid to Black Tornado with epic, 19-inning win By KEVIN GOFF Mail Tribune EAGLE POINT — Eight years worth of futility came to a screeching halt Saturday evening. It may have taken 19 innings and five hours worth of softball, but Eagle Point finally shed its losing ways against longtime nemesis North Medford. Terrah Whipple splashed a two-out single into center field in the bottom of the 19th inning to give the Eagles a 2-1 victory in a marathon Southern Oregon Conference opener for both schools. Game 1 started just before noon and didn’t end until 5 p.m. Because of the late finish, the second game of the scheduled doubleheader was postponed until 4 p.m. on Tuesday here. Advertisement The Eagles last beat North Medford in 1997, when they took the second game of a doubleheader, 4-3, over the then top-ranked Tornado. Third baseman Shannon Richardson, as one of three Eagle Point seniors, was thrilled and relieved after finally defeating North. "Never since I’ve been here have we beaten them," said an excited Richardson. "We were so psyched for this game. We want to get out there and play them again and prove this wasn’t a fluke." Whipple’s two-out hit scored Amanda Hamner from third base, inciting a long-overdue celebration at home plate. "Both teams never seemed to get rattled," said second-year Eagle Point coach Jackie Auchard. "You could see it in their faces. Both teams were trying to make something happen. "We were never satisfied, and we kept pushing ourselves until that final inning." Senior Kelsey Heider gave up seven hits and struck out 22 in pitching the equivalent of nearly three games. "I felt pretty good the whole game," said Heider, who also went 3-for-8 with an RBI. "This was definitely the longest game I’ve ever pitched in. "I don’t think we ever felt like we were going to lose. I knew we’d score eventually." The Eagles (9-0, 1-0 SOC) had 10 hits against North Medford hurler Kendra Strahm and played near-flawless defense behind Heider. "Wow, I mean, we made some incredible plays on defense," Heider said. "We have a young team, but everyone came up and played great defense." Strahm fanned 21 in 181/3 innings. She too had the defense working well behind her, but the bats couldn’t come up with the big hit. "Kendra was amazing," said first-year Tornado coach Missy Doerr. "She was really moving the ball around. Give credit to (catcher) Steph Haskett, too, for doing a good job of framing the pitches. "I’m very proud of Kendra. It was a long game and she stayed focused the whole time." Richardson, Whipple and Hamner each had two hits for the Eagles. Deni Rowley and Strahm had two hits apiece to lead North. The Black Tornado got out of the gate first with a run in the third inning. Rowley, a senior shortstop, reached on a one-out error and swiped second base on the following pitch. With two outs, Katie Gould laced a 2-2 pitch to left field to bring home Rowley for the 1-0 lead. Eagle Point broke through to tie the game in the sixth. Whipple rifled a lead-off double off left-field wall. She moved to third on a groundout by Kirsten Emigh and came home on Heider’s solid single up the middle. Both teams stranded 13 runners and had ample opportunities to end things before the 19th. Eagle Point put runners in scoring position in the ninth, 10th and 13th innings. North also had its share of chances, stranding runners in five of the final nine innings. In the top of the 19th, the Tornado had runners on second and third with one out before Heider induced a pair of ground outs to end the threat. Eagle Point immediately went to work in its half of the inning. Hamner led off with a single and moved to second when Dawn Wilkerson’s sacrifice bunt attempt was misplayed. Both runners moved up following a ground out and, one out later, Whipple brought home the game-winner on an 0-1 pitch. The Eagles, who started last season with an upset of South Medford only to finish 6-8 in the SOC, have approached this year with a different mentality, Auchard said. "These girls are very self-motivated, I guess in the sense that they expect more out of themselves," said the coach. "That’s what I notice about them this year. "They’re not a tough group to coach because they are never satisfied." N. Medford....001 000 000 000 000 000 0 — 1 7 3 Eagle Point..000 010 000 000 000 000 1 — 2 10 1 Strahm, Hoover (10), Strahm (10) and Haskett; Heider and Hamner. W — Heider (8-0). L — Strahm (4-3). 2B — EP: Heider, Whipple. Reach reporter Kevin Goff at 776-4483 or e-mail [email protected] . Mail Tribune Home | Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life | Opinion AP News | Archives | Site Map | Community | Classified Copyright © 1997-2005 Mail Tribune, Inc. 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