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Medford advances to fifth-place semis By Chuck Hickey SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. � The Medford American Little League team put together its best game at the Western Regional tournament Tuesday, but it almost wasn�t enough against the comeback kids from Coeur d�Alene, Idaho. But the 11- and 12-year-old Oregon champions scored two runs in the sixth inning to beat Coeur d�Alene 7-5 and stay alive in the consolation bracket of the tournament. It was Medford American�s second victory in as many days after it lost its first two games in the tournament, which determines the West�s entry in next week�s Little League World Series at Williamsport, Pa. Medford American plays Northern California champion Alameda at 2 p.m. today in the fifth-place semifinals. "That was a great game," Medford American manager Jeff Adamson said. "We had a lot of kids contribute." With the game tied 5-5 in the sixth, catcher Dane Happeny and Jared Adamson singled to center. After a groundout, Tyler Heil doubled into the left-center field gap to score Happeny and Adamson to make it 7-5. Medford American led 5-1, but Coeur d�Alene�s Cory Kreighbaum crushed a grand slam over the center-field fence to tie it 5-5. "We get up 5-1 and we�re feeling pretty comfortable," Jeff Adamson said. "But then they come back. We always seem to leave the door open, and they banged right through it. "But this was definitely our best game here. We had a few walks, but otherwise we didn�t make too many mistakes. This was really the kind of game that got us here." Coeur d�Alene finishes in ninth place after staying alive in the tournament thanks to two comeback victories earlier this week, including one against Ewa, Hawaii, in which Coeur d�Alene scored a regional record 14 runs in its last at-bat to win 22-12. Medford American finished with nine hits, including three by Adamson, who scored twice and drove in three runs. Tommy George went 2-for-4, and Happeny went 2-for-3 with three RBIs. Heil went 4� innings, allowing four hits and five runs with six walks and seven strikeouts. George pitched the last 1� innings to earn the victory, walking one and striking out three. "We think we can play a lot better than we showed in our first two games," Jeff Adamson said. "And we just told the kids that if we get fifth, we�ll be in the top 20 in the country, and that�s something to feel really proud of." Medford American�s reward is another game in the dead of the afternoon today, with temperatures over 100 degrees. "Two o�clock in the afternoon or 12 o�clock at night, we don�t care when we play," Adamson said. "We�re just happy to still be playing, because a lot of teams aren�t playing anymore." Medford American............................................................002 302 � 7 9 1 Coeur d�Alene, Idaho........................................................001 040 � 5 4 5 Heil, George (5) and Happeny; Capaul, Begine (6) and Lupinac. 2B � M: Heil. HR � C: Kreighbaum. 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