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Reed to the rescue Photo of Shannon Reed by Roy Musitelli Phoenix catcher Shannon Reed's RBI single in the seventh lifts the Pirates to the Skyline championship TALENT - The state tournament is still a week away, but the Phoenix and Rogue River softball teams played a game worthy of the postseason in determining the Skyline Conference champion Tuesday. Shannon Reed's single with no outs in the bottom of the seventh inning was the difference as the Pirates claimed the Skyline crown, 3-2, at Hagler-James Field. "It was huge," said first-year Phoenix head coach Bill Shearin. "There were several hundred people there, and it was a playoff atmosphere. "If I'm not mistaken, (the Pirates' last Skyline) title was 18 years ago, when they also won the state championship." Both teams entered Tuesday's regular-season finale 16-4 in conference action, tied atop the Skyline standings. The Chieftains' Katie Glasscock and Phoenix's Tiffany Ross both pitched well enough to win despite a combined nine errors behind them. The Pirates (18-8 overall) took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning, when Kelsey Russell's fielder's choice scored Jennifer Dunlap, who had reached on a single. But Rogue River (17-6) struck right back with two runs in the top of the second, both unearned. The score remained 2-1, Chieftains, until the sixth, when Russell singled and created a run down between first and second, allowing pinch-runner Larrisa Wiltrout to dash home from third base. "We just put 'em in a pickle, and it paid off big for us," Shearin said of the game-tying play. "Actually, it's a page out of the book of a rather successful coach (North Medford's Larry Binney) around here. "And we had the perfect runner on third, because Larrisa's blazing fast." Wiltrout had stolen second base after running for Ross, who reached on an error. In the bottom of the seventh, April Darby led off with a single. Amanda Moore then beat out a bunt, and a collision between Moore and the Rogue River first baseman allowed Darby to sprint to third. After Moore stole second, Reed delivered the Skyline-clinching hit. "We honestly hate to see Rogue River lose, but we can't have two winners and I'm still a Pirate," Shearin said. "It's a good, high-pressure game to take both teams into the postseason." Ross improved to 17-3 with a seven-hit complete game, striking out six and walking one. Glasscock struck out four and walked one in six innings before Angela Winfrey took over in the seventh and suffered the loss. The Chieftains, who outhit Phoenix, 7-5, enter the Class 3A state tournament as the Skyline's second seed and host South Umpqua in a first-round game on Monday. As conference champions, the Pirates receive a first-round bye before tangling with the Glide-Douglas winner next Wednesday. "We've got a group of kids that have pretty much figured out how to win," Shearin said. "The kids just don't have any quit in 'em." Rogue River ..................................... 020 000 0 - 2 7 5 Phoenix ............................................ 100 001 1 - 3 5 4 Glasscock, Winfrey (7) and Artoff; Ross and Reed. W - Ross (17-3). L - Glasscock. Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.