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North Medford enjoyed a bit of a power surge in the middle of Monday’s opening game of the Westview Tournament and got a steady defensive performance to take down the host team for a 6-3 win at Mountainside High in Beaverton.

Ben Morgan hit a leadoff home run to open the top of the fourth inning for the Black Tornado baseball team and, two batters later, Frankie Rutigliano launched a two-run homer to create some separation from Westview (1-3).

“It was super nice,” said North Medford head coach Kerry Curtis of the instant offense. “It gave us a little bit of breathing room there. Those were two big hits in that inning, and gave us a 5-1 lead going into the bottom of the fourth.”

Rutigliano finished 3-for-4 with four RBIs, while Ben Morgan went 2-for-3 with two runs and one RBI on a 10-hit outing by North Medford (5-1).

“We hit the ball hard a lot, sometimes right at people,” said Curtis. “We only struck out two times, so we put the ball in play a lot and capitalized on a couple good opportunities.”

Also capitalizing in the tourney opener was senior pitcher Colton Morgan, who struck out eight and walked two with eight hits allowed in a complete-game effort. Of his 90 pitches, 62 were strikes.

“Colton threw really well today,” said Curtis. “He’s looked so good so far. As we kind of went into season wondering what our pitching staff was going to look like, we knew we can always count on Dom (Daffron) and Frankie, but Colton’s really stepped up and he’s looking pretty sharp for us right now.”

MILLENNIUM 7, SOUTH MEDFORD 3: At Goodyear, Ariz., South Medford senior Kaleb Long connected for a solo home run in the top of the first inning but the Panthers were limited to four hits overall in the Coach Bob Invitational opener.

Gannen Jones drew a walk and later scored for South Medford (2-2) in the second inning, while Chance Ryan singled home Cooper Mitchell in the fourth to give his team a 3-1 lead.

In the bottom of the fourth, however, Millennium (7-7) answered with four runs on two-run hits by Gavin Trim and Preston Armstrong to help the Arizona school take the lead for good.

ASHLAND 1, ST. BONAVENTURE 0: At Ventura, Calif., Ashland junior Freeman Rountree tossed a one-hit complete game with six strikeouts and one walk during the nonconference victory in California.

Senior Nathan Shrader plated freshman Phoenyx Pennell for the game’s only run with a two-out single in the seventh for the Grizzlies (2-1).

Sophomore first baseman Malakai Chandler ended the game with an unassisted double play.

CRATER SWEEPS: At Fresno, Calif., Crater held on to secure a pair of close victories over California foes to open the Fresno Easter Classic at John Euless Park, posting a 3-1 win over Hanford West High before a 6-5 win over Placer High.

In the opening game, senior Hayden Kindreich went the distance and scattered five hits with two walks and two strikeouts. Kindreich also went 2-for-2 at the plate with one run and two RBIs, while Cameron Bruce was 2-for-3.

Game 2 provided late dramatics as Crater (2-3) built a 6-2 lead through five innings and then fended off a comeback bid by Placer which was aided by five Comet errors.

Morgan Austin went 2-for-3 with one run and two RBIs, while Bruce also drove in a run and Trevin Gingg scored twice. Tanner Keith earned the pitching victory after allowing six hits and three runs — two earned — with five strikeouts and one walk in five innings.