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Tornado sweep away South By JASON LEAVITT After splitting a doubleheader earlier in the week with No. 1 North Eugene, North Medford entered Saturday�s Southern Oregon Conference twin bill against South Medford focused and ready for league play. Behind outstanding pitching from senior Steph Coe in the first game and junior Keri Sevano in the second, the Black Tornado swept the Panthers, 10-0 and 2-0 at Fagone Field. North Medford improved to 6-0 in the SOC and 10-3 overall. South Medford is 0-6 and 3-9. Coe no-hit the Panthers in the opener, striking out 11 in five-inning contest. Sevano followed with two-hit ball over 6� innings in the second before Coe finished up for the save. Besides hitting a batter with a pitch in the first inning of the first game, Coe was perfect the rest of the way. The senior struck out the side in the second and had two strikeouts in every other inning. In the second game, she struck out the only two batters she faced. "With a no-hitter, 11 K�s, all in five innings and being ahead of hitters, Steph pitched a great game," said North Medford coach Sara Barry. Coe, on the other hand, wasn�t thinking no-hitter when on the mound. "I didn�t think about that at all," she said. "I was just thinking about getting the win. I had confidence in our team and knew that once we were able to start hitting, we could get the win." North jumped on the board early with one run in the first and slowly chipped away at South pitcher Darci Byrne. In the third inning, Byrne walked leadoff hitter Jill Carrigan, who took second on an errant throw back to the mound, and promptly stole third on the next pitch. A wild ball four to Coe let Carrigan score to make it 4-0. Catcher Britney Hillyer followed with a chopper over third base, and a hit batter and a walk later, North was up 5-0. Kristie Calbert then relieved Byrne and finished the game. Haley Varley and Hillyer each had two hits for North Medford. Byrne came back strong in the second game, allowing only a run in the first and another in the third. But her counterpart, Sevano, proved dominant, holding the Panthers hitless for another three innings. North scored its first run in the second when Beth Morrill singled down the left-field line and later scored on a Carrigan single. The Tornado scored its only other run in the bottom of the third. With one out, Carrigan walked and took second on a wild pitch. After Coe line out, Carrigan stole third and scored on Hillyer�s single to left. South collected its� first hit of the day when Amanda Blair dropped a blooper in front of a diving Carrigan at shortstop. Following a sacrifice bunt, though, Sevano retired the side with a strikeout. Sevano cruised the rest of the way before Coe came back in to get the final two outs and wrap up the sweep. Hillyer had two hits in the nightcap. "Our mind-set for the game was great," Barry said. "Coming back after a big win and being able to refocus for the next game was great. In the first game, we were really tough considering we had played six games this week." FIRST GAME South Medford...........................................000 00 � 0 0 4 North Medford........................................124 3x � 10 9 0 Byrne, Calbert (3) and Conley; Coe and Hillyer W � Coe (5-2). L � Byrne (3-7). SECOND GAME South Medford......................................000 000 0 � 0 3 1 North Medford......................................011 000 x � 2 5 0 Byrne and Conley; Sevano, Coe (7) and Hillyer. W � Sevano (5-1). L � Byrne (3-8). Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.