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Blue Aces keep flying high in tournament McALLEN, Texas - Just two games into the national 16-under fastpitch softball tournament and the South Medford Blue Aces find themselves in a familiar position. After a string of tournament wins during the summer and a 15-game winning streak, the Blue Aces continued to shine with two tournament wins. "We're very happy to be where we're at this far along in the tournament," said Blue Aces coach Doc Chaplan. "To be undefeated after two games is great. We couldn't be happier." On Tuesday, South Medford opened with a 4-0 victory over the Madera Yotees of Northern California. Pitcher Darci Byrne yielded only two hits while striking out 12 in the complete-game performance. Erica Corns and Byrne each went 2-for-3, while Jackie Chaplan put the game away with a two-run triple in the fourth inning. The Blue Aces improved to 2-0 on Wednesday behind Byrne's arm once again. The 16-year-old hurler limited the Rage out of Kingsville, Texas, to three hits in the 6-2 win. Katie Caufman tied the game at 2-2 with an RBI single in the fourth. In the sixth inning, Jennifer Mendenhall doubled and Jonni Byrne laid down a bunt single to put runners at the corners. Chaplan followed with an RBI hit to push the Blue Aces ahead for good. Bethany Stousland provided the insurance with a bases-loaded, three-run double in the seventh. South Medford plays again today with the time and opponent yet to be determined. ASA 14-YEAR-OLD NATIONALS - At Broken Arrow, Okla., the North Medford Black Tornado lost two games Wednesday and fell to 0-3 in the national girls fastpitch softball tournament. North lost its second pool game to the Corona, Calif., Angels 7-0, the began double-elimination bracket action with a 12-1 five-inning loss to the Richmond, Va., Diamonds. Corona scored four unearned runs in the first inning of the shutout victory off North pitcher Mallorie Hoover, who gave up six hits and struck out three. The Black Tornado had three hits. North's best scoring opportunity was in the fifth inning when the Black Tornado loaded the bases with one out. In the second game, Hoover broke up a no-hitter with a leadoff single up the middle in the fifth inning. Hoover went to second on a passed ball, then scored North's lone run on Marissa Towry's RBI single. "There's some awful good talent back here," North Medford coach Russ Gould said. "On this level, everybody is tough. There are no easy games." North Medford will try to stay alive in the tournament with a game today at 4 p.m. A victory will put the Black Tornado into a Friday morning contest. Basketball GRAND FINALE TOURNAMENT - At Las Vegas, the Oregon I.C.E. U15 boys basketball team won its second-round contest but fell in the quarterfinals on Tuesday in the championship bracket of the Grand Finale Tournament. St. Mary's High product Michael Fiddler scored a team-high 20 points and pulled down seven rebounds to lead Oregon in the 68-67 win over the New York Monarchs. South Medford High's Ryan Fiegi added three points and four rebounds. The I.C.E. trailed by one with 1.9 seconds left but took the lead after Redmond's Marty Leunen sank both ends of a one-and-one free-throw situation to seal the win. In the quarterfinals, Fiddler scored 13 and Fiegi added 11 points and six assists, but Oregon was eliminated with the 67-66 loss to the Monterey Bay Ballers. Cross County SOUTHERN OREGON SIZZLERS SUMMER CROSS COUNTRY SERIES - Grier Gatlin of Ashland turned in a fast 5K winning time of 16 minutes, 19 seconds in the second of the three race series at Bear Creek Park. Trevor Coolidge of White City finished second at 16:34, while last week's winner Justin Loftus took third. Rosa Guitierrez of Glendale was the first women finisher and 11th overall at 18:23. The 70-runner turnout for both the 5K and 2K runs was the largest in the 11-year history of the series. The last race of the series will be at 7 p.m. Aug. 8 5K RESULTS TOP 25 FINISHERS - 1, Grier Gatlin, 16:19; 2, Trevor Coolidge, 16:34; 3, Justin Loftus, 16:43; 4, Pete Baumghman, 16:52; 5, Robert Julian Jr., 17:13; 6, Nathan May, 17:26; 7, Todd Ragsdale, 17:50; 8, Rick DeVos, 18:02; 9, Nick Niemeyer, 18:17; 10, Lalo Flores, 18:18; 11, Rosa Guitierrez, 18:23; 12, Chris Redfeldt, 18:29; 13, Joe Griffin, 18:38; 14, Tim Turk, 19:17; 15, Kent Gutches, 19:33; 16, Trevor Palmer, 19:36; 17, Jill Salmon, 19:42; 18, Josh Onarheim, 19:57; 19, Samuel Jacobson, 20:14; 20, Bryan Deger, 20:18; 21, Denver Speelman, 20:20; 22, Matt Supan, 20:31; 23, Charles Hodge, 20:47; 24, Mike Scalan, 20:52; 25, Glen Jacobson, 20:54. Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.