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Coe nabs SOC player of year honor By GREG STILES For two springs it was easy for North Medford junior Steph Coe to avoid the limelight. As a freshman, all Coe had to do was take her cuts as a designated hitter and pitch occasionally amid an array of all-state softball players. Last year, she was still surrounded by an all-state cast. This spring, it was different. Coe was the only all-state-caliber player on a team that lacked varsity experience. There was no dearth of talent, just fresh faces everywhere. But Coe did her part as the Black Tornado won its first 13 Southern Oregon Conference games en route to a 13-1 record and a sixth straight league crown. "Everybody was talking like, `Oh North is going to be terrible and not going to get anything done,"' Coe says. "But I think it was awesome how we came together and won the conference." For her role in the Tornado's 16th district championship in 21 years, Coe was voted SOC player of the year. In 13 conference games she posted a 12-0 record with an ERA of 0.27. In 78 innings, she struck out 75 and walked 20. "I was trying to get ahead of the batters and not get behind in the count so that I'd have to throw down the middle," said Coe, who was a first-team all-state designated hitter and third-team pitcher last year. "At the beginning of the year, I thought we'd be fine. These are the same girls I played with three years ago, we're just together again." Coe's hitting did fall off a bit from the .489 of a year ago. But that was to be expected because she wasn't batting in front of four-time all-stater Steph Adams, as she had in the past. Nonetheless, Coe hit .302 with 10 RBIs to go with an on-base average of .429. "It was a little easier for teams to pitch around her because she wasn't on the same offensive team, but she's the show on the mound, the class of the league," says Crater's Mike Meunier, voted coach of the year for the fifth time. "I saw (Amy) Harris from North Eugene (who beat North Medford in the 1999 state semifinals) last week, and I think Coe is a little better. Coe is right up there with the dominant pitchers in the state." Coe's batterymate, Britney Hillyer (.286 average), was the only other North player to gain first-team honors. Crater, Grants Pass and Roseburg landed three players on the 14-player first team, while Ashland had two in voting conducted by the Mail Tribune. Roseburg junior Molly Liston was selected as an outfielder and pitcher. She hit .409 with six extra-base hits and 10 RBIs. In seven pitching appearances, Liston was 6-1 with an 0.89 ERA. In 47 innings, she struck out 35 and walked 14. Liston's senior teammate Lindsey O'Byrne proved to be the toughest out in the conference. O'Byrne hit .609 in 46 at-bats, with an on base average of .720. She scored 18 runs and stole 19 bases. Senior outfielder Keri Nelson (.308) joined Coe as repeat first-team selections. Grants Pass made a late run to make its second straight trip to the state playoffs led by first-team senior catcher Gabby Rathburn (.465), senior second baseman Mary Barbian (.444, 8 steals) and freshman outfielder Ashley Bellum (.472). Ashland infielders Amy Williams (.548, 2 HR, 10 RBI) and Kristen Strait (.471, 16 RBI) both swung big bats. Crater overcame a slow start to tie for second place, before losing a playoff with Roseburg for the No. 2 playoff berth and a first-round state playoff home game. Senior outfielder Rachel Hernandez (.425) third baseman Kara Ray (.556, 15 steals) and utilityplayer, Shauna Steinmetz (.353, 553 on base) led the Comets. "If we would've played North or Roseburg the opening weekend, we would've probably been in trouble," Meunier said. "We got got a couple of splits at the end of the year that helped us. At the end of the season, we were having good practices four out of five days. We were becoming mentally consistent. That's when we started performing well in games." First Team CATCHER -- Gabby Rathburn, sr., Grants Pass; Britney Hillyer, so., North Medford. INFIELD -- Lindsey O'Byrne, sr., Roseburg; Kristen Strait, sr., Ashland; Amy Williams, sr., Ashland; Mary Barbian, sr., Grants Pass; Kara Ray, sr., Crater. OUTFIELD -- Rachel Hernandez, sr., Crater; Molly Liston, jr., Roseburg; Keri Nelson, jr., Roseburg; Ashley Bellum, fr., Grants Pass. PITCHER -- Steph Coe, jr., North Medford; Andrea Perdue, sr., Crater; Molly Liston, jr., Roseburg. UTILITY -- Shauna Steinmetz, sr., Crater. PLAYER OF THE YEAR -- Stephanie Coe, jr., North Medford. COACH OF THE YEAR -- Mike Meunier, Crater. Second Team CATCHER -- Annie Hoffmeier, sr., South Medford; Lindsey Ridge, so., Crater. INFIELD -- Erin Goodell, jr., Roseburg; Alayna Peterson, sr., Grants Pass; Rashaun Lewis, sr., Grants Pass; Jill Carrigan, jr., North Medford; Andrea Perdue, sr., Crater. OUTFIELD -- Meagann Humann, sr., Ashland; Seanna Doyle, jr., Grants Pass; Lindsey McHenry, jr., South Medford; Amy Bradburn, sr., Roseburg. PITCHER -- Andrea Perdue, sr., Crater; Kara Ray, jr., Crater; Darcy Byrne, fr., South Medford. UTILITY -- Heather Johnson, sr., North Medford. HONORABLE MENTION CATCHER -- Amy Mapes, so., Eagle Point. INFIELD -- Tina Quintero, sr., North Medford; Michelle Hegele, jr., Roseburg; Shannon Burmeister, so., Roseburg; Diane Steele, jr., Crater; Jacquie Page, sr., Ashland. OUTFIELD -- Connie McGonagle, sr., Eagle Point. PITCHER -- Williams, sr., Ashland; Sam Marrs, so., Grants Pass; Tashina Skeen, so., Klamath Union. UTILITY -- Brin Tamblin, fr., Grants Pass. Today's Edition : News | Sports | Business | Weather | Tempo | Classifieds Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 2000, Medford, Oregon USA