North Medford falls into third-place tie to wrap up SWC play; Cascade Christian shares SOC title

Eighth-ranked Crater continued its surge toward a Class 5A baseball state playoff berth, and did it in dramatic fashion for the second straight Friday to run the Comets winning streak to six games in the Midwestern League.

Alex Johnson singled home Mason Snopl in the top of the eighth inning for Crater, and Morgan Austin closed the door on a two-out comeback effort by Ashland to secure an 8-7 win in Game 1 of a doubleheader sweep by the Comets.

Cobain Taylor and Malakai Chandler came through with consecutive two-out singles to put runners on the corners in the bottom of the eighth for the Grizzlies before Austin was able to induce a game-ending flyout to left field by Cameron Oakley.

Snopl finished 2-for-3 with one run and two RBIs, while Caleb Cornett also drove in two runs, Zack Harrington went 3-for-4 with one RBI and Kasen Orr was 2-for-3 with three runs and one RBI for Crater (14-9, 11-4) in the opener.

Taylor, Chandler and Logan Trivette each had two hits with one RBI in Game 1 for Ashland (4-17, 2-13).

Snopl and Cornett combined to go 7-for-7 with two runs and two RBIs in the nightcap, with Johnson striking out seven as Crater secured a 7-3 decision.

Anthony Albano was 3-for-4 with one RBI and Chandler drove in two runs in Game 2 for the Grizzlies.

WILLAMETTE 7-2, NORTH MEDFORD 4-0: At Eugene, No. 9-ranked North Medford suffered its third straight loss in dropping from first place in the Southwest Conference a week ago into a four-way tie for third place in the final standings.

Roseburg finished first at 12-6 in SWC play, one game ahead of Sheldon (11-7 SWC) and two games ahead of a 10-8 pack that included North Medford, South Medford, Grants Pass and Willamette.

Four errors proved costly for the Black Tornado (15-10) in the opener, leading to six unearned runs for the Wolverines (14-12). North starter Dominic Daffron allowed four hits in four innings, while Brady Patterson belted a solo home run and Tate Snyder plated two runs.

Macen Baker struck out eight in a complete-game outing in Game 2 for the Tornado, but was undone by a two-run home run in the bottom of the sixth inning by Willamette’s Jackson Doughty.

CASCADE CHRISTIAN 11-2, BROOKINGS-HARBOR 1-7: At Brookings, Cascade Christian saw its 13-game winning streak halted in Game 2 of the Southern Oregon Conference doubleheader, leading to the Challengers finishing in a first-place tie with North Valley.

Grady Sickler struck out six and allowed only three hits and one walk in the five-inning opener for Cascade Christian (20-5, 13-2 SOC).

Carson Willard and Michael Covey each had two hits and two RBIs for the third-ranked Challengers in Game 1, while Andy Alvarez went 3-for-4 with one run and one RBI.

In Game 2, Cascade committed an uncharacteristic six errors that led to five unearned runs. C.J. Bonner went 3-for-4 and Bryson Walker was 2-for-3 with two runs in the nightcap.

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