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Conklin exhibits perfect pitch Panthers' junior reaches high note By KRIS HENRY South Medford coach Pete Whisler wasn't sure what he was heading into after moving over from Mazama last spring. Whisler had helped form a powerful Viking baseball program, including a Class 4A state title in 1996, but opted for South Medford when Mazama dropped to Class 3A. "I didn't know anything about any of them until we started playing games," Whisler says of the Panther players. Five weeks into the season, one player in particular has made a big impression on Whisler and the South Medford faithful. Tony Conklin put an indelible mark on the season last Saturday. The junior right-hander pitched a perfect game against Ashland to earn his second win in three decisions. "The perfect game is going to be with me for a while," says the 16-year-old, "but that was a team thing. The team should get just as much credit as me. I think (shortstop) Brett (Haag) made most of the outs in the game. All I did was make sure they just kept hitting it to him because he was on at defense that day." Conklin's perfect game was the first witnessed by Whisler in his near-28 years of organized baseball, but the coach and his players knew exactly how to handle the situation. "Nobody said anything to him in the dugout. Nobody wanted to jinx him," says Whisler. The South Medford dugout hopes to remain quiet for the same reason today when the Panthers take on rival North Medford in a Southern Oregon Conference doubleheader beginning at noon at Miles Field. Conklin will take the mound in the opener for South but has no grand designs on hurling another masterpiece. "I don't expect to go out and do it again, and I hope nobody expects me to either," Conklin says. "I'm just going to go out, keep throwing strikes and hope we keep playing defense like we have been this season." A sweep by North Medford in today's doubleheader could help dissolve a logjam in the SOC standings. Crater leads the pack at 4-0, with North Medford, Eagle Point and Roseburg tied for second at 3-1. South Medford is 2-2. Conklin hopes to help South keep the picture muddled. "We just need to take it one game at a time," he says. "If we worry about the doubleheader, we won't be thinking about the first game. We just need to do what we need to to win the first game and worry about the second one later." That's not to say the Panthers wouldn't enjoy taking two from the Black Tornado. "It would be kind of nice to go out there and sweep them," Conklin says. "I don't know when was the last time we did that. It's always been a good game between North-South. It's always been close." Whisler says Conklin has the right demeanor to be successful on the mound. "Nothing flusters him," the coach says. "He's got great composure and shows no emotion. You don't know if he's happy or sad. It's hard for us to get two words out of him." Conklin admits his pitching presence is subtle, but that hasn't stopped him from being successful. "I know I'm not going to get out there and overpower anybody or make them look foolish with a massive off-speed pitch," the 6-foot-1, 185-pounder says. "I just try to locate it in the spot where the umpire's calling it a strike." In spite of the rivalry and the closeness of the SOC race, Whisler says he hopes South will play today like it's just another game. "We have to beat them like we have to beat Ashland, KU or anybody else in the league," he says. Interestingly, the highlight to Conklin's season thus far may have come Tuesday when he drilled his first high school homer in a 10-2 win over South Eugene. "I work at pitching, but hitting is what I think I do best," Conklin says. He doesn't consider himself to be the next Steve Bechler, who was taken in the amateur draft after graduating from South Medford last year. "Last year, it was the `Steve Bechler Show' for everybody," Conklin says, without envy or disdain. "This year, it's South Medford, and we go out as a team and don't expect one person to win the game." Himself included. "I'm not going to go around telling everybody I'm a good pitcher because I pitched a perfect game because that was more of the team than me," he says. "I did my part, but I don't think I did anything spectacular. I just kept it in the strike zone and let (Ashland) hit it around." He filled his role perfectly. Today's Sports Index Mail Tribune Copyright� The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, OR U.S.A.