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One inning fatal for TJs, 6-2 YAKIMA -- Southern Oregon struggled in only one inning Wednesday night, but that proved to be more than enough misfortune as Yakima employed a five-run third inning to edge the Timberjacks, 6-2, in a Northwest League baseball contest. The loss dropped the Southern Division leaders to 22-17 on the season. Yakima, meanwhile, improved its record to 19-19. The two teams will cap off their five-game series tonight at 7. Southern Oregon will then return home to open a five-game series against Spokane on Friday at 7 p.m. at Miles Field. Yakima got to Timberjacks starter Matt Gage in the third inning with back-to-back singles by Jim Goelz and Omar Moreno. After a fielder's choice, Kevin Covington reached to load the bases on an error by shortstop Jason Clements. Sandy Vasquez followed with a two-run single, and Lamont Matthews capped the surge with a three-run homer to right field. The Bears added another run in the fifth to make it 6-0 before Southern Oregon finally mounted a rally in the seventh. Jeremy Schied and Jorge Soto hit consecutive doubles, with Schied scoring on a groundout by Clements and Soto scoring on a two-out single by Rosario. Wednesday's 2-hour matchup was in stark contrast to Tuesday's wild, four-hour, 11-inning battle won by Soto's ninth home run for the Timberjacks. In Tuesday's game, Soto tied the NWL record for most putouts in a game by a first baseman. Also in that game, the Timberjacks set a league record for team assists with 25. The previous record was held by three teams with 22 assists, the last being the Rogue Valley Dodgers in 1969. Today's Sports Index Mail Tribune Copyright� The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, OR U.S.A.