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Relaxed Tornado stirs up victory Photo by Steve Johnson North Medford�s Nate Mayben, top, tags out Chris Herber as the North Salem player attempts to steal second base in the second inning. By Greg Stiles If North Medford�s baseball team was a bit on edge, it didn�t show. If the Southern Oregon Conference champion was feeling playoff pressure, it didn�t surface. The Black Tornado simply went out and took care of business, extinguishing upstart North Salem�s Class 4A title hopes Monday afternoon with a 5-2 state quarterfinal victory at Miles Field. North Medford struck for three runs in the bottom of the second inning and then countered North Salem�s comeback with runs in the fourth and fifth innings as the Tornado improved to 22-5-1. "We were really relaxed,�� said shortstop Nate Mayben, who drove in two runs in the second inning. "There wasn�t a lot of tension and we were probably screwing around before the game more than we should�ve." With all that was on the line, the fourth-ranked Tornado played errorless defense, minor flaws were calmly whisked away. "This team is full of leaders,�� said Mayben, a fourth-year varsity player. "This is really a different kind of team." Certainly different than all but three other Class 4A teams that remain in the championship hunt. North Medford travels to Bend Wednesday to play No. 10 Mountain View, which pounded Oregon City, 19-1. In other quarterfinals, No. 7 Lakeridge, the defending state champion, edged Bend, 7-6, and No. 6 Crater ousted No. 1 Forest Grove, 7-1. "Going into the season, I knew the Intermountain Conference teams were pretty good,�� Mayben said. "But it would be really nice to prove to the people up North that don�t give us much respect that we can play." Sophomore left-hander Brent Kircher earned the Vikings� respect by getting them to chase pitches. When he walked a batter in the first inning, he quickly got two groundball outs sandwiched around a nifty pickoff move that hung North Salem�s Anthony Isabella out to dry. Kircher (10-2) struck out five, walked two and scattered five hits. The only mistake he paid for came in the third inning when Ryan Godfrey walloped a 1-0 pitch off the right-field foul pole 344 feet from home plate with one on and two out. "I was hoping that it was going to go a little more to the right," said right fielder Shawn Backstrom, who caught five fly balls and had an outfield assist to cut down a runner at second in the fourth inning. The Tornado took a 3-0 lead in the second inning on three hits, a walk and a North Salem error. Dan Bruce doubled to the base of the right field fence, Phil Ouellette walked and Backstrom beat out a grounder deep in the hole at shortstop to load the bases. Josh Bottjer�s chopper left North Salem third baseman Chris Herber only one play � to first base � as Bruce scored the game�s first run. One out later, Mayben singled to center field, driving home Ouellette and Backstrom. But Blake Bower�s throw flew over home plate to the backstop, allowing Mayben to reach third base. After North Salem trimmed the lead to 3-2 in the third, North Medford pushed the advantage back to four in the fourth when Backstrom walked, stole second and raced home on Evan McArthur�s single down the left field line. Clean-up hitter Charlie Jensen added an insurance run in the fifth when he spanked a 385-foot home run off the upper wall in dead-center field. It was his fourth home run of the campaign and came on a 1-1 offering from Godfrey. ``In the playoffs, you can�t take anything for granted,�� Jensen said. "Every team is good at this point." North Medford last reached the semifinals in 1994 en route to a runner-up finish to Sunset. That was the fourth of four straight semifinal appearances. Overall, it�s the 14th time the Tornado has journeyed this far into the playoffs. ``I�m excited for our kids,�� North Medford coach Brett Wolfe said. ``We have an experienced group that has played in some big games. Colby (Gonzales), Nate (Mayben), Kenny (Halpin) and Danny (Bruce) have been around. Big situations don�t bother them.�� North Salem .......................002 000 0 � 2 5 4 North Medford ....................030 110 x � 5 8 0 Godfrey and Hollen; Kircher and Halpin W � Kircher (10-2). L � Godfrey (8-1). 2B _� NM: Bruce. HR � NS: Godfrey (5). NM � Jensen (4) 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