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Young guns propel Pirates to sweep in Skyline softball play Prep softball TALENT -- Youth has played a big part in the Phoenix softball team's success and failures this year. The Pirates lost six players from last year's team to graduation and were left with some very inexperienced but talented younger players to fill the gaps. "We have a tremendous offensive team," said Phoenix coach Rich Ficek. "But our inexperienced pitching and defense have been very inconsistent." The Pirates showed the whole package on Saturday with a doubleheader sweep of Lakeview. Freshman Erin Heath struck out a team best five batters in the first game en route to the victory. Carla Roberts led the offensive attack, going 3-4 with two RBI's and a double but had to sit out the second game because of an illness. Health was also an issue for Lakeview. Four players, including a starting pitcher and one starting infielder, did not play either game due to injuries suffered during the week. Phoenix jumped out of the gates early, racking up 13 runs in the first inning of the night cap to cruise to the five inning win. The Pirates picked up nine hits in the second game and took advantage of eight Lakeview errors. Phoenix travels to play at first place Henley on Tuesday. FIRST GAME Lakeview ......000 200 0 -- 2 6 5 Phoenix ......803 000 x -- 11 8 2 Johnson and Gillagley; Heath and Nikodym. W -- Heath. L -- Johnson. 2B -- L: McFarlane; P: Roberts, Cano. SECOND GAME Lakeview ..........200 01 -- 3 4 8 Phoenix .......(13)21 0x -- 16 9 0 M. Johnson, J. Johnson (1), M. Johnson (4) and Gillagley; Davis and Nikodym. W -- Davis. L -- M. Johnson. 2B -- P: Jackson, Davis. ILLINOIS VALLEY 7-4, HIDDEN VALLEY 0-3 -- At Cave Junction, Justine Johnson picked up two wins on the mound striking out 17 while walking one to lead Illinois Valley to a Skyline sweep. Emily Hoskins led IV in the first game, going 3-for-3 with three runs scored, while Rachel Pierce and Julie Schump each chipped in with two hits in the second game. Bethany Roth and Jennifer Bain each had two hits for Hidden Valley in the second game. FIRST GAME Hidden Valley ...... 000 000 0 -- 0 3 5 Illinois Valley ....... 211 021 x -- 7 5 1 Roth and Nugent; Johnson and McDowell. W -- Johnson. L -- Roth. SECOND GAME Hidden Valley .......000 030 0 -- 3 8 2 Illinois Valley ........000 400 x -- 4 7 1 Merrill, Roth (4), and Nugent, Hueners (6); Johnson and McDowell. W -- Johnson. L -- Merrill. 2B -- IV: Johnson. ROGUE RIVER 7-18, NORTH VALLEY 6-4 -- At Merlin, sophomore Christine Shamblin smacked a two-out, three-run homer in the top of the seventh inning to help Rogue River rally past North Valley. Rogue River had 13 hits for the game but kept it close by committing 11 errors. No heroics were needed in the nightcap as the Chieftains (4-6, 3-5) scored 10 runs in the fifth to break open the game and put the 10-run rule into effect. Jamie Artoff was 5-for-7 at the plate to lead Rogue River. FIRST GAME Rogue River ..... 010 020 4 -- 7 13 11 North Valley ........100 221 0 -- 6 6 3 Artoff and Bailey; Wardlaw and Long. W -- Artoff (2-2). L -- Wardlaw. 2B -- RR: Shamblin; NV: Vaniersel. HR -- RR: Shamblin. SECOND GAME Rogue River .... 430 1(10) -- 18 12 1 North Valley ..........201 01 -- 4 6 2 Goodwin and Sittingdown; Vaniersel, Wardlaw (2), Ironside (5) and Long. W -- Goodwin (2-2). L -- Vaniersel. 2B -- RR: Bailey, Artoff, Goodwin. 3B -- RR: Haberman. HENLEY 8-17, MAZAMA 7-5 -- At Klamath Falls, Lois Shoemaker led No. 2-ranked Henley with five hits and five RBIs in the doubleheader. Rachel Scott added five hits and two RBIs for the Hornets. FIRST GAME Mazama ......052 000 0 -- 7 7 2 Henley .......016 010 x -- 8 13 7 Powell, Valiton (3) and Mishler; Hargrave, K. Young (3) and Herbert. W -- K. Young. L -- Valiton. 2B -- H: Miller. 3B -- M: Brassner; H: Shoemaker, Herbert. SECOND GAME Mazama ..........410 00 -- 5 8 4 Henley .........245 6x -- 17 18 5 Valiton, Powell (3) and Mishler; K. Young, Hargrave (5) and Mills. W -- K. Young. L -- Valiton. District 6 CASCADE CHRISTIAN 10-9, BONANZA 8-10 -- At Bonanza, Natalie Peck went a combined 6-for-8 at the plate to lead Cascade Christian to a doubleheader split with Bonanza. The Challengers held on in the seventh inning of the first game, getting a key defensive play for the win. With no outs and a runner on first, Cascade Christian's Whitney Brookins snagged a line drive at second base and turned to double up the runner, halting the Bonanza rally. The Challengers (9-6, 3-1) could not match their first game feats in the nightcap, losing a heartbreaker in extra innings. The loss dropped Cascade Christian into a tie for first in the conference with Bonanza. FIRST GAME Cascade Christian ...200 006 2 -- 10 13 4 Bonanza .....................100 025 0 -- 8 7 1 Gordon and Gettman; Maddock, Brandt (6) and Spivey. W -- Gordon (4-4). L -- Maddock. 2B -- CC: Gettman, Brookins; B: Nixon. SECOND GAME Cascade Christian .....000 153 001 -- 9 9 6 Bonanza ................031 014 002 -- 10 12 3 Kelley and Gettman; Havern, Maddock (4) and Spivey. W -- Maddock. L -- Kelley (4-3). 2B -- CC: Brookins, Peck; B: Nixon 2, Havern, Spivey, Martinez. ST. MARY'S 20-7, PROSPECT 7-8 -- At Prospect, a two-run rally in the bottom of the seventh inning allowed Prospect to gain a District 6 split. St. Mary's scored nine runs in the first inning of the opener on four hits, three walks and four errors. Shawna Jackson scored five runs and drove in three more with a pair of hits for St. Mary's (5-4, 3-3 District 6). In the second game, Lani Brophy gave St. Mary's a 7-6 advantage in the top of the seventh inning with a home run. It was Brophy's third hit of the game and second RBI. But the Cougars rallied when Sara Thompson singled and Kary Linderman doubled to right-center field to put runners at second third. Sophomore Lindsey Acrey followed with the game-winning hit to right-center. FIRST GAME St. Mary's .....901 011 8 -- 20 10 4 Prospect ..........000 230 2 -- 7 4 5 Brophy and Jackson; Thompson, Acrey (6) and Applegate. W -- Brophy. L -- Thompson. 2B -- SM: Maurer; P: Applegate. 3B -- SM: Jackson. SECOND GAME St. Mary's ......103 011 1 -- 7 6 4 Prospect ........112 200 2 -- 8 6 4 Fetty, Brophy (7) and Jackson; Acrey and Applegate. W -- Acrey. L -- Brophy. 2B -- P: Linderman. 3B -- P: Acrey. HR -- SM: Brophy. Today's Sports Index Mail Tribune Copyright� The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, OR U.S.A.