Patterson collects career-high six RBIs in opener vs. South Eugene; North, South Medford sweep softball twin bills

North Medford sophomore Brady Patterson enjoyed a career-best day at the plate in an opening 15-7 win over South Eugene on Saturday, and senior Macen Baker bolstered the cause on offense and defense in Game 2 to complete a doubleheader sweep with a 7-1 triumph.

With the wins, combined with a loss by Roseburg, the Black Tornado moved into a first-place tie in the Southwest Conference standings with three league games remaining.

Offensive production was at a premium during Game 1, and that’s where Patterson was at his best as the catcher had run-scoring singles in the second and fourth innings and cleared the bases with a three-run triple in the fifth.

In all, Patterson went 3-for-4 with six RBIs as North Medford (15-7, 10-5 SWC) amassed 12 hits during the opener.

Zach Decker collected a pair of doubles to go 2-for-4 with two runs and one RBI, while fellow senior Easton Curtis went 2-for-3 with four runs and one RBI. Ben Morgan also drove in a pair of runs.

Baker was able to plate three runs to help his own cause in the nightcap, where the right-hander also scattered seven hits by South Eugene (3-19, 0-15) to allow only one earned run. Baker finished with two strikeouts and no walks.

Colton Miller highlighted a four-run fourth inning in Game 2 with a two-run triple, and Dominic Daffron went 2-for-4 with three runs while Austin Warren was 2-for-3 with one run.

After his big outing in Game 1, Patterson drew three walks in the nightcap.

GRANTS PASS 9-3, SOUTH MEDFORD 6-11: At Grants Pass, Grady McQuillan went 3-for-5 with two runs and three RBIs and South Medford also got a pair of RBIs apiece from Evan Rhoden, Owen Leavens and Tristan Mallari to salvage a split in Game 2 of the Southwest Conference doubleheader.

Rhoden finished 3-for-3 with two runs and Leavens 2-for-4 with two runs for the Panthers (14-9, 9-8 SWC) in the nightcap, with Brad Love going 2-for-3 with one RBI and Easton Douglas scoring three times.

South Medford led 6-5 in Game 1 before Grants Pass (11-9, 8-7) tallied four runs in the bottom of the sixth inning. Keegan Painter had a two-run double and finished with three RBIs for South, while Rhoden drove in a pair of runs and the Panthers got two hits each from Mallari and Jake Lewis.

CRATER 6-3, EAGLE POINT 1-2: At Central Point, Crater scored all six of its runs in one inning to decide Game 1 and used a walk-off grounder in its final at-bat of Game 2 to complete the Midwestern League sweep at Anhorn Field.

The Comets (11-9, 8-4 MWL) used a two-out, second-inning surge to secure the opener, with Kasen Orr providing a two-run double and Alex Johnson clearing the bases soon after to highlight the outburst. Andrew Sweet capped the scoring with an RBI single.

Mason DeVry had a double and Sean McFall followed with an RBI single for Eagle Point (8-12, 5-7) in the fourth inning.

Skylar Tribur supplied an RBI single and came around to score on a wild pitch to tie the nightcap at 2-all in the fifth for the Eagles.

In the seventh, Gage Ayers sparked Crater with a leadoff double, moved to third on a single by Tanner Keith and eventually scored the winning run on a second straight fielder’s choice by the Comets, the latter coming from Mason Snopl.

CASCADE CHRISTIAN 11-21, ST. MARY’S 1-1: Cascade Christian pitchers combined to allow only two hits in 12 innings in the Southern Oregon Conference doubleheader sweep at St. Mary’s, posting nine strikeouts in each game.

The Challengers (18-4, 11-1 SOC) maintained a one-game lead over North Valley as they head into a final three-game league series this week against Brookings-Harbor.

Grady Sickler paced the offensive flurry in Game 1 by going 2-for-4 with one run and four RBIs, while C.J. Bonner was 2-for-3 with three runs. Andy Alvarez struck out seven with two walks and no hits allowed in three innings in the opener.

In the five-inning nightcap, Seth Scaglione took advantage of his opportunity by going 4-for-5 with two runs and four RBIs, with Bonner going 2-for-2 with three runs and three RBIs and Bryson Walker scoring three times to go with two RBIs.

St. Mary’s (1-18, 0-12) secured its only two hits during Game 1, with Tyler Archie and Kayleb Etchegaray posting singles. Archie drew a pair of walks to reach safely three times in the opener, and scored the team’s lone run on an RBI effort by Tai Zimmerman.

Softball

NORTH MEDFORD 15-11, SOUTH EUGENE 5-1: Malia Baker went 3-for-3 with five RBIs in the opener and pitched a three-hitter with seven strikeouts in Game 2 to help propel host North Medford to a Southwest Conference sweep.

Sadie Hall went 2-for-3 with one run and four RBIs, and Caileigh Raines combined to go 5-for-8 with four runs and two RBIs to pace the Black Tornado (18-4, 13-2 SWC).

Julia Edwards struck out 10 with one walk and eight hits allowed in the five-inning opener.

Maleyah Thoele and Becca Tuivanu each drove in a pair of runs in Game 2 for North, which scored eight runs in the first inning to pull away.

SOUTH MEDFORD 5-5, GRANTS PASS 4-3: At Grants Pass, South Medford secured a sweep to extend its winning streak to seven games and move into sole possession of third place in the Southwest Conference.

The Panthers improved to 16-7 overall and 10-7 in league play, one game ahead of Grants Pass (12-10, 8-7) with one game remaining on their SWC schedule.

Reach sports editor Kris Henry at kris.henry@rv-times.com or 458-488-2035