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North tops Corvallis for crown PREP ROUNDUP North Medford's baseball team showed amazing composure for the second straight day, rallying to earn a 7-3 win over Corvallis on Wednesday to claim the Asante Diamond Classic championship at Miles Field. The Black Tornado (4-1) posted the only 3-0 record in the six-team tournament. North stunned South Eugene 23-1 in Tuesday's first game, then came from behind to edge Barlow of Gresham, 5-3, in eight innings. North Medford took a 2-0 lead on Corvallis in the second inning after Ken Halpin and Jim Pickrel each notched RBI singles. Corvallis roared back in the bottom of the third with three runs, including a two-run blast over the center field fence by Ryan Boyle. "Up until that point, we were controlling the ballgame," North Medford coach Brett Wolfe said. "We threw a curveball which just missed and then came back and the kid hit a fastball out of the park. (Boyle's) too good of a hitter to miss that chance." Undaunted, the Black Tornado scored four runs in the top of the fourth to regain the lead and never look back. "Our kids showed great poise and discipline," Wolfe said. "We didn't panic and came back and battled through it." Jason Brownell started North's rally in the fourth by being hit by a pitch. Courtesy runner Phillip Oulette then stole second base for the second time in the game, and advanced to third on an infield out. Jarred Pagnini followed with an RBI double down the left-field line. Pinch-runner Evan Gordon took over for Pagnini, advancing to third on a Halpin single. Gordon broke for the plate and scored when Halpin stole second, with Pickrel adding an RBI single to plate Halpin. Nate Mayben followed with an RBI single to cap the rally. Mike Beers struck out six in four innings to gain his second win of the season, with Mayben no-hitting Corvallis over the last three innings for his first save of the season. "Mike Beers really pitched well," Wolfe said. "He got us in position to win." From there, Mayben took over with his second straight night of shutout relief. "He faced the meat of the order in the fifth inning with runners in scoring position and got a big out when he forced Boyle to pop up," Wolfe said. North Medford placed four of its players on the all-tournament team, including Halpin, Mayben, Brownell and Pagnini. Other all-tournament team members were Brett Haag, Tony Conklin and David Thrapp of South Medford; Kane Tenpas and Boyle of Corvallis; Orben Frederick of Enterprise; Brian Burres of Barlow; and Donny Bradetich of South Eugene. North Medford ............... 020 410 0 -- 7 8 0 Corvallis ........................ 003 000 0 -- 3 3 4 Beers, Mayben (5) and Brownell; Hinshaw, Hopson (5), Nelson (7) and K. Jones. W -- Beers (2-0). S -- Mayben (1). L -- Hinshaw. 2B -- NM: Pagnini, Bruce; C: Postlewait. HR -- C: Boyle. SOUTH MEDFORD 11, BARLOW 1 -- South Medford needed only five innings to gain a non-conference win and post a 2-1 record in the Asante Diamond Classic. Tony Conklin faced 19 batters in notching his second win of the season, allowing only three hits with two strikeouts at Miles Field. South Medford (4-1) has allowed only 10 hits in its five games this season. The Panthers broke open a 4-1 contest in the top of the fifth thanks to a two-run double by David Thrapp, an RBI single by Brett Haag and a two-run single by Josh Tompkins. Haag led South with three hits, while Tompkins, Thrapp and Chuck Shine each had two hits. Thrapp led the team with three RBIs. South Medford ................... 103 07 -- 11 13 1 Sam Barlow ....................... 100 00 -- 1 3 1 (five innings) Conklin and Shine; Stone, Patrick (4) and Frazey. W -- Conklin (2-0). L -- Stone. 2B -- SM: Conklin, Thrapp. CASCADE CHRISTIAN 4, DAYS CREEK 3 -- At White City, Tim Alvarez drove in two runs with a key single in the second and the Challengers (4-0) held on to remain undefeated on the season. Bryan Edwards picked up his third win for Cascade Christian, striking out seven in six innings of work. Days Creek ....................... 101 001 0 -- 3 9 2 Cascade Christian ............. 130 000 x -- 4 6 2 Jackson and Davis; Edwards, Alvarez (7) and Roberts, Stutzman (6). W -- Edwards (3-0). L -- Jackson. 2B -- DC: Jackson; CC: Alvarez. HIDDEN VALLEY 8, YREKA 6 -- At Grants Pass, the Mustangs picked up their first win of the season with an explosive first inning as Tanner Mason and Ryan Wilson doubled, followed by Andy Sakraida's home run. Mason and Wilson were both 3-for-3 on the day, while Sakraida went 2-for-22 to pace Hidden Valley. Yreka .............................. 220 200 0 -- 6 4 2 Hidden Valley ................. 300 500 x -- 8 9 5 Satilippo and Wade; Hyde, Stegall (2), Howell (3), Stewart (4) and Hoagland. W -- Stewart (1-0). L -- Satilippo. HR -- HV: Sakraida. 3B -- HV: Wilson. 2B -- HV: Wilson (2), Mason. Today's Sports Index Mail Tribune Copyright� The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, OR U.S.A.