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62 °F Forecast | Road Cams Friday, May 27, 2005 Today's News | Shop Our Valley | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery | Contact Us SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion Tempo AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map SPECIAL SECTIONS Since We Asked Britt Festival Outdoor Journal Menu Guide How To Guide Health Biz Connection 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 May 18, 2005 Henley puts an end to Pirates’ playoff hopes By KEVIN GOFF Mail Tribune TALENT — Phoenix’s slim state-playoff chances turned to none Tuesday when fourth-ranked Henley and pitching ace Bryn Card rolled into town. The Pirates scratched out five hits against the hard-throwing left-hander but couldn’t crack the scoring column until the final inning during a 4-1 Skyline Conference baseball defeat at Hagler-James Field. Phoenix (15-9, 11-7 Skyline) ends the season on a three-game losing streak and will finish fourth in the conference standings. Mazama (11-6 conference) clinches the third and final Class 3A state playoff berth with the Phoenix loss. "It’s disappointing that this group of kids isn’t going to the playoffs," said Phoenix coach Joe Hagler. "It’s a great group of guys. They deserved better." Advertisement Even if the Pirates had defeated Henley, they would still have needed Mazama to lose its season finale today against Hidden Valley to wrap up third place. "We were hoping it wouldn’t come down to this game," said Hagler. "Henley’s a very good team, and you never want to leave it up to somebody else." The defending state champion Hornets (21-5, 15-3 Skyline) will take the league’s No. 2 seed to the playoffs after Rogue River sealed the conference title with a 9-3 triumph over Mazama. Henley will host a first-round playoff game on Monday, while Mazama is on the road. Rogue River is at home next Wednesday for a second-round game. "We still have a lot of young kids," said Henley coach Joe Tacchini, who starts seven sophomores, "but we’ve gotten a lot better as the season’s gone on. "Hopefully, we’ll represent the conference well in the playoffs." Card, who will play baseball for Oregon State University next season, was in complete command throughout. He mixed a hard, tailing fastball with a knee-buckling breaking pitch to strike out seven and keep the Pirates scoreless until the seventh. "I felt really good about today," said Card. "I’ve had a lot of rest recently, so I was ready." Phoenix pitcher Aaron Decker matched Henley’s all-state hurler for the first two innings before running into trouble in the third. Andrew Burg ripped a leadoff double to the left-center field gap and moved to third on a wild pitch. Collier Picard walked one batter later, and both runners came home on Kelly Shannon’s one-out double. Shannon stole third and scored the third run of the inning on a fielder’s choice. The Hornets’ lead reached 4-0 in the seventh when the Phoenix bats awoke. John Goldberg started the brief rally with an infield hit. He moved to second on a groundout and raced home to break up the shutout when Robert Woodward singled after fighting off several two- strike pitches. But Card buckled down and struck out pinch-hitter D.J. Ferrin for the second out, then retired Dan Ritchie on an infield popup to end the game. "(Card) is one of the top three players in the state at any level," said Hagler. "He’s definitely the best pitcher in our league. "Anytime Phoenix and Henley get together, no matter what the records are, it’s always a healthy rivalry." The Pirates will lose eight seniors next season, including first-team all-Skyline competitors Brenton Ferguson and Chad Walker. "We expected to make the playoffs," said Ferguson, who, like many on the Phoenix roster, missed some games with injury this season. "It’s disappointing, but we’ve gotta live with it." Henley......................................003 000 1 — 4 5 1 Phoenix.....................................000 000 1 — 1 5 1 Card and Mastroianni; Decker, Strong (7) and Giron. W — Card (10-2). L — Decker (3-2). 2B — H: Shannon, Burg. 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. All rights reserved. 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