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Comets find cure for nerves in playoff win photo by Drew Fleming By Greg Stiles CENTRAL POINT � To say the Crater Comets were just a bit on the nervous side heading into Friday�s playoff game against the Pendleton Buckaroos might well be an understatement. "We were throwing up before the game, we were so nervous," Crater right fielder P.J. Pardee said. "That�s how big this game was." Five times in the 1990s, the Comets advanced to the Class 4A state baseball playoffs and three times state title hopes died painfully in the second round. So after the Comets pounded Pendleton 11-1 at Anhorn Field in a game shortened to five innings, they well knew the significance. Crater had more than merely advanced to the quarterfinals; the Comets had ended a decade�s worth of frustration. "For all the seniors on the team, this is a landmark day," Pardee said. "It�s something we�ve been waiting for and we passed the test." Not since losing the 1974 state championship game have the Comets advanced this far. Fifth-ranked Crater (24-3) ventures north to play top-ranked Forest Grove at 2 p.m. Monday. The Vikings ousted No. 2 South Salem, 8-5. To go with a superlative performance from senior right-hander Brent Foster on the mound, Crater erupted for a back-breaking, nine-run second inning that for all practical purposes ended Pendleton�s surprising run through the playoffs. Foster threw a highly economical 42 pitches, allowing three hits and one run. He lost the shutout with two outs in the fifth inning. He struck out three and hit one batter. "What I wanted to do was go out there and keep them off balance," said Foster, who won for the sixth time without a loss this season. The Comets� scouting report indicated the Bucks liked to hack at the first pitch they saw. Foster�s answer was to start off batters with breaking balls. "I wanted to make sure they only got a little bit of the ball," Foster said. "I thought I had really good command of my pitches, even though I hit a batter. I�ll lose a certain pitch now and then." Foster also lost one of Pendleton starter Michael Stratton�s pitches in the second inning, belting a three-run home run. It was part of an explosion of six hits, three errors and a walk that mushroomed into an insurmountable lead � even for a team that scored seven runs in the seventh inning to knock off Westview, 7-5, on Tuesday. "We knew we could hit the ball from the first inning," said Casey Campbell, who walked and singled and scored twice. "We were finding holes and got some lucky breaks. Then everyone came up and started crushing the ball." The Comets sent 12 men to the plate and had eight runs in before the Bucks recorded the second out. It started innocently enough with Campell drawing a walk and Jeremiah Toews punching a base hit past third baseman David Beamer. Josh Hinojosa sacrificed the runners to second and third. Then Rob Williams� grounder chewed up second baseman Nic Endicott, allowing Campbell to score. The bounces were starting to go Crater�s way. Ryan Gipson drilled a base hit to right field that Garrett Pounds overran, scoring one run and leaving runners on second and third. Stratton then uncorked a wild pitch that sent Williams home. Gipson upped the lead when Ken Strate grounded to first base and Thomas Cullimore�s throw to the plate was high. The Comets led 4-0 and were just warming up. Pardee singled to put runners on the corners for Foster, who quickly cleared the bases with a 350-foot shot over the right-center field fence for his eighth home run of the spring. "It was an inside fastball, about knee high," Foster said. "It had a little bit of movement on it, but I was able to stay on it." Hinojosa, the only Comet not to score, plated two more runs before reliever Darren Jio recorded the final out on Williams fly ball to deep center.\ "We were relaxed after that," Campbell said. "We still had our intensity, but it was enjoyable for us." Crater cashed in on three more errors by the Bucks in the fourth, when K.J. Chubb reached on an error and Campbell whacked the ball back up the middle. The ball struck the pitching rubber, popped 20 feet in the air and spun back toward catcher Justin Desler. His throw sailed into right field, allowing Chubb to score. Toews made it 11-0 on Strate�s infield single. Despite the lopsided victory, the Comets know they�ve got their work cut out Monday. "Every team�s beatable," Foster said. "There�s really no advantage or disadvantage to being ranked No. 1. All we can do is go out and play our best. ``We�ve lost three games by one run. During those games, there were things we could�ve done better. Right now, if you�re No. 1, you�ve got to prove it by how you play. This is isn�t double-elimination. The bracket puts pressure on every team.�� Pendleton ........................................... 000 01 -- 1 3 7 Crater ...................................................090 2x -- 11 10 3 Stratton, Jio (2) and Desler; Foster and Hinojosa. W -- Foster (6-0). L -- Stratton (2-6). 2B -- P: Hawkins, Watchman. HR -- Foster (8). Obituaries | Sports | Business | Classifieds | Tempo | Prime Times | So Oregon Sites | Outdoor Journal | Subscribe | Contact | Movies | Advertise | Real Estate Showcase | Archive | Editorials | Letters to the editor | Religion | Wake-up Call | NIE | Cyber Chef | Job Network | So Oregon Weather | WSJ Northwest | Forums | AP Wire | AP Money | F.A.Q. | Awards Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. The Community Newspaper Subsidiary of Dow Jones & Co, Inc Copyright �The Mail Tribune 2000, Medford, Oregon USA