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Panthers bag trip to state SOC baseball South Medford solidified its spot in the Class 4A state baseball playoffs by splitting Saturday's Southern Oregon Conference doubleheader. Graham Foster dominated on the mound in the first game for a 3-1 win, with Eagle Point scratching back in the nightcap to salvage a split with a 6-3 victory. South Medford (14-12, 8-6 SOC) secured the SOC's fourth playoff spot, and will travel to Silverton of the Pacific-8 Conference in a subtournament game Friday. "After a 2-4 start, we knew we would have to play very well to win the last six out of eight games, and we did," South Medford coach Pete Whisler said. "The kids played hard and they deserved it." Had it not been for Eagle Point's Mike Newmann, Foster would have been even more impressive in the first game. Foster struck out eight and allowed only three hits -- all to the Eagle slugger -- including a first inning homer. "Graham was excellent in the first game -- he gave up one home run in the first inning, but after that it was nothing," Whisler said. "He came through with big strikouts from that point on." After Newmann's blast, South rallied to tie the game in the first on an RBI single by Chuck Shine. The Panthers sealed the win in the sixth as Foster smacked a two-run double to drive in Jimmie Maddox and Tony Conklin. Nick Newmann helped carry the Eagles in the second game, with his three-run double in the fourth breaking open a 2-all tie. David Thrapp paced South in the second game with a 3-for-4 effort, giving him five hits on the day. FIRST GAME Eagle Point ............100 000 0 -- 1 3 1 South Medford .......100 002 x -- 3 8 0 N. Newmann and Cardoza; Foster and Shine. W -- Foster (4-5). L -- N. Newmann. 2B -- SM: Foster. HR -- EP: M. Newmann. SECOND GAME Eagle Point ...........020 301 0 -- 6 12 2 South Medford ........110 000 1 -- 3 9 0 M. Newmann and Garrett; Empio, Conklin (5) and Shine. W -- M. Newmann. L -- Empio (5-1). 2B -- EP: Stevenson, Cardoza, N. Newmann; SM: Conklin. ROSEBURG 9-6, KLAMATH UNION 0-3 -- At Roseburg, Thys Kuitert picked up his seventh win for Roseburg as the Indians swept a doubleheader from Klamath Union and clinched the Southern Oregon Conference title in the process. Kuitert struck out nine and gave up only two hits in his complete-game victory over the Pelicans. J.J. Wolford led the Indians at the plate, going 3-for-4. Teammates Kuitert, Kevin Linderman and Brad Cohen each had two hits in the opener. FIRST GAME Klamath Union ........000 000 0 -- 0 2 6 Roseburg ................105 102 x -- 9 9 0 Woodrum and Mortenson; Kuitert and Charles, Smith (7). W -- Kuitert (7-1). L -- Woodrum. 2B -- R: Linderman. SECOND GAME Klamath Union ......110 100 0 -- 3 9 4 Roseburg ...............010 140 x -- 6 7 0 Kesling, Kallstrom (5) and Monti; Brewer and Smith. W -- Brewer (5-0). L -- Kesling. 2B -- K: Monti; R: Kuitert, Charles, Liston, Sheldon. GRANTS PASS 4-11, ASHLAND 3-3 -- At Grants Pass, Gabe Barbee hit a grand slam in the second inning of the second game to power Grants Pass to the sweep. Jason Anderson of Grants Pass had one home run in each game as the Cavemen finished their Southern Oregon Conference season with a 6-8 record. They were 10-13 overall. FIRST GAME Ashland ..................100 001 1 -- 3 3 1 Grants Pass ............012 001 x -- 4 4 1 Ehlers and McGuire; Sammis and Gregory. W -- Sammis (4-2). L -- Ehlers. 2B -- GP: Major. HR -- GP: Anderson. SECOND GAME Ashland ..................200 000 1 -- 3 6 0 Grants Pass ..........141 320 x -- 11 9 0 Allen, Swallow (5) and George; Anderson and Gregory. W -- Anderson (2-2). 2B -- A: Rowe. 3B -- A: Walsh. HR -- GP: Barbee and Anderson. Today's Sports Index Mail Tribune Copyright� The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, OR U.S.A.