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52 °F Forecast | Road Cams Sunday, May 8, 2005 Today's News | Shop Our Valley | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery | Contact Us SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion Tempo AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map SPECIAL SECTIONS Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Menu Guide How To Guide Health Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Real Estate Guide Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Wedding Guide Passport to the Rogue Valley SHOP OUR VALLEY AutoFinder HomeFinder JobFinder Classified Place an ad TOP JOBS EXTRA Ashland News NIE Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People Volunteer Moving here? eSouthernOregon CUSTOMER SERVICE FAQ's Advertise with us Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend May 8, 2005 Comets rally for key split with Tornado CENTRAL POINT — After North Medford defeated Crater 4-1 in the opening game of a Southern Oregon Conference baseball doubleheader at Anhorn Field Saturday, the Comets postseason hopes were reduced. And when Crater went into the bottom of seventh of Game 2 trailing 7-5, the situation was even worse. But Crater rallied for an 8-7 victory thanks to three Black Tornado errors to keep its chances alive. "We had to win one of those games to have a shot for the playoffs," Crater coach Jim Powell said. "Our backs are against the wall the rest of the season. We have to win every game." Cory Staniforth got the Comets’ winning rally started with a one-out double. Staniforth surprisingly tried to steal and on the play North catcher Darren Bruhns made a wild throw to third, allowing Staniforth to score. Advertisement Tyler Schmidt kept things going with a walk and Jesse Warren was brought in to pinch run. Josh Surgeon singled, then pinch-hitter Dan Lovemark hit a grounder to first baseman Abe Eubank, who tried to turn the double play. Eubank’s throw pulled shortstop Kyle Williamson off the bag at second and the bases were loaded. Tyler Davis followed with a grounder in the hole that Williamson made a fine diving stop. Williamson tried for the out at second, but the low throw got away and Surgeon came around to score the winning run. "It was typical baseball," said Powell. "When you put the ball in play it creates enough pressure to allow the other team to make mistakes. It shows errors in my book, but my players put the ball in play." When Eubank connected for a three-run homer to cap a four-run fourth inning, the Black Tornado (19-4, 14-4 SOC) built a 7-2 lead. But the Comets (12-11, 9-9) kept themselves in the game with three runs in the bottom of the inning on just one hit, Jesse Bailey’s RBI single. Crater sophomore pitcher Chris Thomas went the distance for his sixth victory in seven decisions. In the opening game, North lefty Josh Suarez handcuffed Crater on four hits. Suarez struck out five and Crater’s only run was unearned. "(Suarez) throws hard so all his off-speed stuff is difficult to stay back on," said Powell. "He had good location." The Black Tornado got its runs on Zack James’ two-run triple in the first and added two more runs in the fourth on three Comet errors. FIRST GAME North Medford........................200 200 0 — 4 8 1 Crater......................................000 100 0 — 1 4 3 Suarez and Bruhns; Davidson and Reina. W — Suarez. L — Davidson (3-5). 2B — NM: Odom; C: Grabowski 3B —NM: James. SECOND GAME North Medford.......................030 400 0 — 7 6 5 Crater.....................................200 300 3 — 8 8 2 Rohrbough and Bruhns; Thomas and Reina. W — Thomas (6-1). L — Rohrbough. 2B — C: Staniforth. HR — NM: Eubank Skyline Baseball ROGUE RIVER 4, HENLEY 3 — At Klamath Falls, Rogue River coach John White was holding out his pitching ace Gary Richardson for the second game, but senior hurler Justin Castro did the job in the opener against Henley all-star Bryn Card. The second game was postponed due to rain in the top of the second inning. The victory gives Rogue River (18-2, 12-1 Skyline) a 1½ -game lead over second-place Henley in the Skyline standings. Defending state champion Henley (16-5, 11-3 Skyline) has been the top-ranked Class 3A team all season, while Rogue River has climbed to the No. 3 spot. Castro walked four and hit two batters, but helped his cause with two hits and two RBIs. Losing pitcher Card struck out 10 and only allowed one earned run. Rogue River took advantage of five Hornet errors. Josh Hill and Spencer Frantz also added two hits for the Chieftains, while Kelly Shannon and Colin Stock had two hits apiece for Henley. Rogue River..............................102 100 0 — 4 6 0 Henley......................................101 001 0 — 3 7 5 Castro and Reagles; Card and Mastroianni. W — Castro (6-1). L — Card. 2B — RR: Castro; H: Shannon. NORTH VALLEY 8-7, ILLINOIS VALLEY 0-3 — At Merlin, North Valley pitchers Brandon Schilling and Marcos Morales shut down Illinois Valley in the Skyline twin bill. Schilling pitched a three-hitter, struck out eight and walked two in the opener. He got all the runs he needed in the first when Keith Suits, who was 2-for-4, singled, stole two bases and scored on a ground out. Tim Stickler and Mat Turner then hit back-to-back solo homers. Brad Converse also had two hits and scored twice. Doug Hoskins had two of the three hits for Illinois Valley (0-19, 0-15 Skyline), including a double. In Game 2, Morales went the first six innings, allowing three hits and fanning five. He walked four and hit four batters. Turner was 2-for-2 for the Knights (6-16, 5-11 Skyline). FIRST GAME Illinois Valley...........................000 000 0 — 0 3 3 North Valley.............................313 010 x — 8 7 2 Murphy and Thomas; Schilling and Ogden. W — Schilling. L — Murphy. 2B — IV: Hoskins. HR — NV: Stickler, Turner. SECOND GAME Illinois Valley...........................000 002 1 — 3 4 1 North Valley.............................204 100 x — 7 4 0 Dierkes and Hocker; Morales, Tisch (7) and Ogden. W — Morales. L — Dierkes. 2B — IV: Escalona, Hocker. HR — NV: Stickler, Turner. Mail Tribune Home | Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life | Opinion AP News | Archives | Site Map | Community | Classified Copyright © 1997-2005 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Website Feedback Free Music Downloads Conference Calls - $50/Month Home Security Systems Trunks, Footlocker, Trunk, Footlockers home equity loans helzberg diamonds Distance Education Diamonds Paris Hilton Online Poker Auto Insurance Mesothelioma Slippers Student Loans Tatoo tcg student loan consolidation teleconferencing Website Design & Marketing Memory Foam Mattress w2 forms Tatoos Mortgage Calculator Free Home-Loan Referrals Payday Loans Advertisement s