Panthers score 3 unanswered runs in last at-bat to top Ida B. Wells; North Medford stymied by Sandy

South Medford’s prospects of advancing out of the first round in the Class 6A baseball state playoffs weren’t looking promising as the Panthers set out for their final at-bats Monday afternoon in Portland.

It took only four batters and one veteran pitcher to turn that all around against Ida B. Wells at Clopton Field.

Stymied through six innings, 18th-seeded South Medford struck for three runs in the top of the seventh inning, and senior right-hander Evan Rhoden closed the door thereafter to seal a 3-2 comeback victory.

The Panthers (16-11) advanced to face No. 2 West Linn (23-5) in a second round contest at 5 p.m. Thursday.

Getting there started innocently enough, with Owen Leavens getting hit by a pitch to open the seventh. Tristan Mallari then drew a walk to put the tying runs on base, and Brad Love capitalized on the opportunity right away with a slap bunt that rolled down the right field line for a double that scored Leavens.

Jake Lewis followed with a groundout to the shortstop that brought home Mallari with the tying run. On the play, Love broke for third base after the Guardians’ delivery to first base, and wound up scoring the go-ahead run when an ensuing throw back across the diamond got away and skipped into foul territory.

With the Panthers now holding a 3-2 lead, Rhoden didn’t let the opportunity for a road win escape as he sat down the 15th-seeded Guardians in order on a flyout to first baseman Mallari, a strikeout and a game-ending groundout to second baseman Keegan Painter.

Prior to the seventh inning, South Medford had only one single by Painter and five others reach base via a walk or hit batter. The Panthers had a runner get as far as third base in the first and second innings to no avail, and no one got as far as second base thereafter until Leavens broke the drought in the seventh.

Ida B. Wells (17-11) grabbed a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning on a sacrifice fly by Cody Roletto and RBI single from Cam Hammer, but Rhoden settled in to keep the Guardians in check for the remainder of his complete-game outing.

Rhoden allowed three hits with five strikeouts and two walks to earn the victory.

Jack Burnham, Grae Wilson and Ian Kolmer combined to allow only two South Medford hits over seven innings.

SANDY 5, NORTH MEDFORD 0: At Sandy, North Medford junior Ben Morgan went 2-for-3 but the Black Tornado bats otherwise went silent in the first round of the 6A state playoffs.

Left-handed senior pitcher Max Green limited No. 21 North Medford to three hits overall — Jake Payton singled for the Tornado’s first hit in the second inning — and posted eight strikeouts with four walks in a complete-game effort.

Dominic Daffron took the pitching loss for North Medford (15-12), which ended the season on a five-game losing streak. Daffron allowed nine hits with three walks and three strikeouts, and was done in by a four-run third inning by the 12th-seeded Pioneers (19-9).

Sandy had four of its hits in the third, highlighted by a two-run double by Cooper Hibbs.

North’s best scoring opportunity came in the second inning, when Colton Miller drew a one-out walk and the Tornado loaded the bases with consecutive singles by Payton and Morgan. Green was able to escape unscathed by inducing a comebacker from Cade Pettersen to begin a 1-2-3 double play.

The Tornado also loaded the bases on consecutive two-out walks drawn by Daffron, Brady Patterson and Macen Baker, but Green got out of the jam with a strikeout of Miller.

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