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P/CLOUDY Temp: 63 °F Wind: NNW at 14 mph Saturday, June 21, 2003 SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map EXTRA HomeLife Magazine W3 Magazine Jobs @ Mail Tribune Tempo A & E Oregon CarZone Wellness Connection Real Estate Newspaper in Education Prime Times Outdoor Journal Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People CLASSIFIEDS Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Find Everything E SOUTHERN OREGON Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar ABOUT US FAQ What's New Advertise Home Delivery Classified Ad Contact Us Media Kit Email Story to a Friend May 29, 2003 North Medford�s Brandi Paxton dives safely into second base in the second inning as Hood River Valley shortstop Ashley Delepine struggles to field the catcher�s throw. Paxton went on to score the Black Tornado�s first run in the Class 4A state playoff. Mail Tribune / Roy Musitelli Dusting ‘em off Like last year, North comes up with lopsided victory in its second playoff By TIM PYLE Mail Tribune It’s beginning to look a lot like last year for the North Medford softball team. A close-as-they-come first-round victory followed by a blowout home win in the second round is how the Black Tornado started the Class 4A playoffs last spring, when it ultimately claimed the state championship. This year, North followed Monday’s 5-4, eight-inning scratch past Thurston with a 9-0 drubbing of Hood River Valley in Round 2 Wednesday at Fagone Field. Now, for the second straight year, the fourth-ranked Tornado (27-2) travels to Salem to play at Sprague in the quarterfinals. The game is Friday at 4 p.m., with the Olympians coming off triumphs of 4-2 in eight innings at Lake Oswego on Wednesday and 2-1 over Dallas on Monday. Advertisement The No. 1 seed out of the Valley League by virtue of a coin-flip tiebreaker over co-champion South Salem, Sprague lost a 5-0 decision to visiting North in this exact spot last season. The Tornado is hoping d�j� vu continues to happen all over again. "Sprague’s obviously gonna look at this as a chance for a little redemption," said first-year head coach Brent Barry, who has North in pursuit of its fifth state title. "And I think a lot of teams this year have been looking for some redemption against us. But we’ve stepped up and won some close ballgames, fortunately. And we’re looking to do the same thing Friday." Wednesday’s tussle wasn’t so close. In winning its 17th straight, dating back to an April 26 Game 2 win in a split at Crater, the Tornado squeezed single runs out of the second and fourth innings, then raised the sledge hammer for three runs in the fifth and a four-spot in the sixth. Meanwhile, senior ace Keri Sevano kept the Eagles (18-9) silent, working three of her six innings in perfect fashion and allowing just two hits, a walk and a hit batter overall. Behind Sevano, who struck out six, North’s defense was error-free. "I was feeling really good the whole game," said Sevano, who improved to 14-1 this spring and 49-4 for her career while running her postseason unbeaten streak to seven. Sophomore Kendra Strahm, the probable heir apparent, pitched a 1-2-3 seventh to finish off HRV. Barry said he believed Sevano was perhaps even more determined than usual because Thurston got to her for four runs and eight hits Monday. "I think she took it a little personal," Barry said of the Colts’ production in the Tornado’s Round 1 victory. "She came out and flat-out hit spots. We got a great scouting report from (assistant) George Calvert, who was the scout that went up there (and watched a 3-2 win over Aloha) Monday. And she flat-out was on top of her game." Offensively, North was aggressive, opportunistic and, in its final two turns at-bat, unstoppable. Senior center fielder Brandi Paxton scored the first two runs, walking both times and then attacking the base paths in typical Tornado fashion. In the second, she stole second base and rounded third to touch home on sophomore designated hitter Rachelle Willden’s bunt that was thrown away by Eagles pitcher Talia Hinman. Paxton made it 2-0 in the fourth by again stealing second, dashing to third on a wild pitch and trotting in on Willden’s RBI single. The manufactured runs were a familiar sight to HRV 12th-year head coach Phil Hukari, whose Eagles squads met North, then directed by Larry Binney, in three straight postseasons from 1996-98. "They’re a real speed team," said Hukari, who beat the Tornado, 3-0, in the ’96 championship game, suffered a 1-0 setback here in the ’97 semifinals and dropped a 7-0 decision to visiting North in the ’98 quarterfinals. "They’re a team that makes things happen. They put pressure on you, and you can’t make mistakes. ... (The 7-0 game in ’98) was a lot like this game, where I think our pitcher was as good, but she didn’t have it." The Tornado put the contest away with fifth- and sixth-inning eruptions. Senior second baseman Beth Morrill’s one-out triple sparked the three-run fifth. Morrill scored on a wild pitch before junior shortstop Darcy Cordell singled and touched home on senior third baseman Corey Whitaker’s triple. In the sixth, four more runs came in on five hits, a walk and HRV’s third error. Hinman, a sophomore who was the Eagles’ workhorse on the way to a second-place finish in the Intermountain Conference, went 61/3 innings, permitting six hits and five walks. She struck out three. North’s offensive stars were Morrill, who was 2-for-3 with a run scored, an RBI and two stolen bases, and Paxton, who was 1-for-1 with three walks and two runs. "We’re a lot more confident in one another," Paxton said of what has pushed the Tornado offense to new levels of productivity the last month. "Before, people were just tight and anxious. Now, we’re all having fun." And now comes Sprague, just like last year. "Obviously, we’re not gonna go in there with the mind-set that we can beat ‘em with the ease we did last year," said Sevano, who will duel with Olympians’ ace Lorilyn Wilson once again. "Obviously, they’re a better team, we’re a better team and it should be a great game." Hood River Valley .................. 000 000 0 — 0 2 3 North Medford ..................... 010 134 x — 9 10 0 Hinman, Gaulke (6) and Pritchett; Sevano, Strahm (7) and Haskett. W — Sevano (14-1). L — Hinman. 3B — HRV: Hinman; NM: Morrill, Whitaker. 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