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Gonzales extends hitting streak to 23 North Medford senior first baseman Colby Gonzales extended his season-long hitting streak to 23 games and set a Black Tornado record for hits in a season during a 6-4 non-conference victory over South Medford at Miles Field Wednesday. Gonzales, who went 2-for-3 against the Panthers, collected his 45th hit of the season, breaking the previous mark of 44 set by Kerry Curtis in 1994 and tied by Nate Mayben last year. Seventh-ranked North Medford (18-4-1, 11-1 SOC) used a pair of long balls to break open a 1-1 tie in the third inning. With one out in the third, Mayben singled and Kenny Halpin followed with his fourth home run of the season, a 400-foot shot to center field. Gonzales singled to keep his streak alive, then Charlie Jensen homered to left. South Medford loaded the bases in the fifth on a walk, an infield single and a hit batter. Ryan Heil provided a sacrifice fly to cut the Panthers' deficit to 5-2. South Medford loaded the bases again in the sixth off winning pitcher Tallun Anderson (2-0) before Josh Bottjer was summoned from the bullpen. Bottjer got Jim Maddox to hit into a potential inning-ending double-play grounder to short, but Mayben made a wild throw at second and two runs scored. Bottjer got out of the frame without any more damage, then allowed a double to Chuck Shine in the seventh before recording his first save of the year. Bottjer and Jensen also had two hits for North, while Shine and Brett Haag each collected a pair of hits for the Panthers. The Southern Oregon Conference title will be determined Saturday when the Black Tornado hosts Crater, which trails league-leading North by one-game, in a conference-ending 1:30 p.m. doubleheader at Miles Field. South Medford ..........................010 012 0 -- 4 6 0 North Medford ........................014 001 x -- 6 10 3 Tompkins, Haag (6) and Shine; Anderson, Bottjer (6) and Halpin. W -- Anderson (2-0). L -- Tompkins. 2B -- SM: Shine; NM: Jensen, Ouellette, Bottjer. HR -- NM: Halpin (4), Jensen (3). CRATER 10, SOUTH UMPQUA 0 -- At Central Point, K.J. Chubb and Casey Campbell combined for a five-inning, non-conference one-hitter for fourth-ranked Crater (21-2, 10-2 SOC) at Anhorn Field. Chubb improved to 6-1 by pitching three hitless innings and striking out seven. Chubb also sparked the Comets 11-hit attack with a 3-for-3, one RBI performance. Senior Romon Cortez added two hits and three RBIs and junior shortstop Ryan Gibson contributed two hits and two RBIs. Jeremiah Toews also had two hits for the Comets. South Umpqua ..................000 00 -- 0 1 2 Crater ................................501 4x -- 10 11 0 Stevenson, Bay (4) and Carmen; Chubb, Campbell (4) and Hinojosa, Sills (2). W -- Chubb (6-1). L -- Stevenson. 2B -- C: Toews, Foster, Campbell. EAGLE POINT 3, GRANTS PASS 2 -- At Eagle Point, BJ McFall drove home the eventual winning run in the fifth-inning to lead Eagle Point (13-10) to a non-conference win. McFall laced a two-out RBI single scoring Evan Pogue and then turned away Grants Pass in the seventh inning with an unassisted double-play to end the game. Brant Minor led the Cavemen with two hits. Grants Pass ......................200 000 0 -- 2 8 4 Eagle Point .......................000 120 x -- 3 3 1 Olson, Sammis (6) and Richard; Strodthoff, Holte (4), Stevenson (7) and Garrett. W -- Holte. L -- Olson. Today's Edition : News | Sports | Business | Weather | Tempo | Classifieds Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 2000, Medford, Oregon USA