It seemed to be such an innocent — but good — start for South Medford’s softball team Tuesday night at Roseburg.

The Panthers — nor the host Indians for that matter — could have imagined that’s all it would take, at least offensively, in the Southwest Conference clash.

Facing a must-win matchup to remain in striking distance of possibly a second-place finish in the SWC and the advantageous playoff position that comes with it, the Panthers scratched across one run in the top of the first inning and the pitching combination of Kaycee Hudson and Nicole Ledendecker made that hold up for a 1-0 triumph.

South Medford (10-9, 8-5 SWC) pulled within one game of second-place North Medford and Roseburg in the conference standings with five SWC contests remaining. Reigning Class 6A state champion Sheldon is on the cusp of wrapping up the league title this weekend.

“You just kind of keep checking them off one at a time, so this was a big one for us, for sure,” said South Medford head coach Miranda Gillaspie. “Our kids battled and it’s going to be us in that situation getting closer and closer to the end of the season and heading into the playoffs. To be in a ballgame like that and be able to hang onto it was huge.”

Hudson and Ledendecker combined on a no-hitter to help make that happen for South Medford, with Hudson posting seven strikeouts against three walks in three innings and Ledendecker notching six strikeouts against two walks in four innings of relief.

“They worked ahead in the count so that was big,” said Gillaspie. “We had a little bit more flexibility with pitch-calling because they were working ahead. They were just composed and they didn’t let the walk or the little bloop or anything kind of faze them at that point, especially when you have a no-hitter between two pitchers. They just worked ahead and battled every single kid, because (the Indians) have some kids that can swing the bat, for sure.”

The lone run for either team came in the top of the first inning, when Hanna Turpin drew a one-out walk and advanced one base on a hard single by Ledendecker. Turpin was then able to advance to third base after tagging up on a flyball out by Aubree Joe, and ultimately crossed the plate on a passed ball.

“I just thought, ‘OK, that’s a good start,’” said Gillaspie of the early run. “Trust me, I didn’t think that was going to be all of it.”

Roseburg pitcher Jasmine Morales did well to make it that way, striking out 10 batters of her own in a complete-game effort.

“It was a good start there but then it was pretty quiet,” said Gillaspie. “We had a couple other kids that came up and had some solid hits, but just right at people. We had only three basehits past that.”

“It was definitely a pitchers’ battle back-and-forth all the way through,” added the coach. “All three of them threw very well.”

Jayden Cote had a single in the second inning, while Joe and Danika Ostvik also had singles in the fourth inning but were left stranded in South Medford’s only other serious scoring threat.

Roseburg’s Rylie McLaughlin was able to reach on the Panthers’ lone error of the game when she laid down a bunt and it was bobbled to allow her to reach base with two outs. On the next play, Cote was able to fight off the conditions in right field for a game-ending catch.

“Every single runner that gets on matters,” said Gillaspie, “and in a 1-0 ballgame, any baserunner represents a potential change so that was cause for concern.”

“It was a little dramatic at the end,” she added. “It’s a high fly ball to right field and the sun’s directly coming down, but Jayden made a great catch and that was ballgame. But all of a sudden if that gets past her, (McLaughlin) is pretty quick and she could get three bases off of that if that goes down the line. But Jayden made a great play and we all took a breath.”

NORTH MEDFORD 15, WILLAMETTE 2, 5 inn.: Five players drove in multiple runs to help host North Medford move into a tie for second place in the Southwest Conference standings.

The Black Tornado (14-7, 9-4 SWC) put up eight runs in the bottom of the first inning, highlighted by a two-run single by Caileigh Raines.

Jaycee Russell-Tyler drove in three runs and North Medford got two hits, two runs and two RBIs apiece from Natalie Tlascala, Presley Lawton and Raines. Gabbi Urban also notched a pair of RBIs, while Gia Rutigliano went 3-for-4 with two runs and one RBI and Maili Hamlin scored three times.

THURSTON 9, EAGLE POINT 7: At Eagle Point, three straight singles with two outs in the top of the seventh inning allowed Thurston to snap a 7-all tie and eke out the Midwestern League victory.

Freshmen Riley Jacoby and Allison Martin each had two hits with one run and one RBI for the No. 6-ranked Eagles (14-6, 10-3 MWL), who went up 7-5 with five runs in the bottom of the third inning.

Kady Lindstrom was 2-for-4 with one run, while Sarah Estes and Kady Ledbetter also drove in a run against Thurston (12-6, 10-0).

PHOENIX 11, KLAMATH UNION 10: At Talent, Phoenix rallied with five runs in the bottom of the seventh to claim the Skyline Conference home victory.

Jayden Vos and Julie Johnson each collected two hits for the Pirates (10-9, 7-6 Skyline), with Addison Brite, Sylvia Platt and Johnson driving in two runs apiece during the comeback effort.

Kendall Heywood and Vos halved the pitching duties, with Vos striking out six with four hits allowed and Heywood posting three strikeouts against Klamath Union (8-12, 3-10).

CASCADE CHRISTIAN 13-6, LAKEVIEW 3-7: Ninth-ranked Cascade Christian collected 21 hits and 12 stolen bases in the twin bill but could not rally in the nightcap to finish with a split at Lithia & Driveway Fields.

Ashlyn Cooper combined to go 4-for-7 with one run and three RBIs, Danika Brackett was 5-for-8 with three runs and two RBIs and Becca Tuivanu went 3-for-4 with three runs and four RBIs to pace the Challengers (17-5, 11-3 FWL).

McKenzie Bonner scored three times and drove in three runs in the five-inning opener, while Carsyn Sousa was 2-for-3 with two runs and two RBIs.