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CLOUDY Temp: 58 °F Wind: N at 6 mph Sunday, June 22, 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 31, 2003 Oregon City pitcher stymies North Medford By KRIS HENRY Mail Tribune OREGON CITY — North Medford’s strength all season has been its keen eye at the plate and ability to pound the baseball. That strength, however, turned into an unforgiving weakness Friday as the top-ranked Black Tornado (25-4) was unceremoniously ousted in the quarterfinals of the Class 4A state playoffs. Home plate umpire Mike Peterson supplied a generous strike zone and Oregon City pitcher Jonah Nickerson took it from there in shutting down the potent Tornado for a 9-2 victory. "Once you get to the playoffs, anything can happen," said Nickerson, a 6-foot-1 senior. "We just looked at it like we were the underdogs and had nothing to lose coming into this game. They were the ones with the pressure." Advertisement A first-team all-state pitcher last season, Nickerson made his living on the outside corner in striking out 14 batters — eight looking — to avenge an early-season road loss to North. "Everything was working for me and, after the first inning or two, I just felt like I was in control of the game," added the right-hander. At home, and with a lot of leeway for the strike zone, the Oregon State signee was simply unhittable, and the baffled looks by Tornado batters after being informed they struck out nearly indescribable. After a while, North’s batters found themselves forcing a swing on pitches in their heart they’d normally never look at just to keep up with Peterson’s strike zone. "We have very disciplined hitters who have great awareness of the strike zone and are quite knowledgeable and they make adjustments," said North coach Brett Wolfe. "But you can’t adjust when you have no idea and the ball’s a foot outside." To his credit, Peterson, who refused comment after the game, held firm to his generous strike zone for both teams. But an 80-mph fastball and soft curveball on the outside from North’s pitchers was nothing like contending with Nickerson’s 90-mph fastball and slider. "(Peterson’s strike zone) was wide, but it was wide both ways," said Oregon City coach JJ Winkle. "But nobody’s going to hit (Nickerson) when he’s throwing 90 mph and he’s getting that pitch out there." And for the most part, nobody did. "You get a kid that’s throwing the ball close to 90 mph and it’s not that bad if you’re just working with the normal strike zone," said North junior Rob Folsom, who extended his hitting streak to 39 games with two of North’s six hits, "but if you add six to eight inches, it turns a 90 mph fastball into a 110 mph fastball and that’s impossible to hit." "I’ve never seen anything like today," Folsom added in disbelief. "It’s kinda hard to go out with a bad taste in your mouth." Nickerson allowed three hits in six innings, striking out the side twice and getting a little help from a couple unorthodox plays. After Dustin Butler was hit by a pitch to start the second, Jimmy Ulrey was called out for interfering with the catcher on a stolen base attempt by Butler. In the fourth, Charlie Behnke notched his second one-out single of the day but was stranded when Folsom’s bunt sunk into the heavily watered dirt in front of the plate and the junior stepped on the ball for another out en route to first. The wackiness went the other direction as well, with the Pioneers (22-7) scoring their first run on a disputed balk by Butler — his first in varsity action — after a two-out double by Jared Cram and a single by Kirk Williams. After Williams stole second on catcher’s indifference, Butler asked Wolfe from the mound whether he wanted the left-hander to throw from the stretch or the windup, mocking both glove positions on his query. Peterson immediately called for a balk, contending that Butler was on the pitching rubber at the time. The senior, however, was about two feet in front of the dirt-covered rubber and that knowledge sent an irate Wolfe out of the dugout to plead his case to Peterson, who didn’t want any part of the conversation. Wolfe had already expressed his displeasure in Peterson’s strike zone and his ruling of interference by Ulrey, and found little solace in the other umpires, Chuck Ashley at first base and John Johnson at third. "I asked (Peterson) earlier to check with (Johnson) on the interference and (Johnson) said to (Peterson), ‘If you say it’s an interference call, then I agree.’ That’s what (Johnson) said in the first inning. And in the second (Johnson) said, ‘If you had him on the rubber, I had him on the rubber.’ That’s a direct quote. And I’m sorry, but that’s all I could take." Wolfe’s declarations that Peterson was "gift-wrapping the game" for Oregon City earned the ninth-year Tornado coach an early exit, leaving the coaching duties to assistants Sandee Kensinger and Ron Fawcett. "I’m disappointed because I didn’t get to be in the dugout with our ballclub to experience the losses as well as the wins," Wolfe said after the game. "But I didn’t feel we were given the opportunity to compete." North loaded the bases in the third but Nickerson got Butler to swing wildly at a high-and-outside fastball to end the threat. The Pioneers countered with more two-out magic in the third, getting a single by Matt McBride and three straight RBI doubles on three straight Butler pitches up in the zone. Folsom squashed the surge when he picked off Nate Rylaarsdam at second base. Oregon City’s 4-0 lead ballooned to 9-0 in the fifth after a leadoff triple by McBride barely eluded a diving Ulrey on the right field line. Cody Johnson followed with an RBI single, and scored on a wild pitch after Rylaarsdam reached on an error. Travis Glass came on in relief of Butler, but was promptly greeted by a two-run homer to straightaway center field by Cram, only the second HR allowed by North’s staff all season. A wild pitch by Glass brought home the fifth run of the inning. Beau Hovland replaced Glass on the mound and walked his first two batters before inducing a groundout by Johnson to third. North scored its only two runs in the seventh off Cram in relief. Russ Vandell and Hovland hit back-to-back singles with one out and, one out later, Folsom drilled a two-run double to the gap in left-center field. After Tyler Engle walked, Reese Lamson fittingly ended the game by being called out on strikes. "The one nice thing about this is there wasn’t a single guy on the bench who was down or out," said Folsom. "We were all out there busting our butts and trying as hard as we can. It just didn’t work out for us this time." North Medford.........................000 000 2 — 2 6 2 Oregon City............................013 050 X — 9 11 0 Butler, Glass (5), Hovland (5) and Folsom; Nickerson and Bishop. W — Nickerson (10-2). L — Butler (10-1). 2B — NM: Folsom; OC: Cram, Johnson, Veselik, Rylaarsdam 2. 3B — OC: McBride. HR — OC: Cram. Reach reporter Kris Henry at 776-4488, or e-mail [email protected] Printer Friendly Version Email Story to a Friend Subscribe Archive: Click to Search Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2003 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions Website Feedback A D V E R T I S E R S SPECIAL SECTIONS Rogue Valley Auto Finder Rogue Valley Job Finder --> Rogue Valley Home Finder Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Tempo Real Estate Showcase Food for Thought Hike of the Week Wellness Connection Outdoor Journal Moving to Southern Oregon? Volunteer Openings Prime Times