Black Tornado suffer tough baseball loss as Panthers narrow gap in SWC standings

Natalie Tlascala hit a two-run triple in the first inning to help fifth-ranked North Medford build an early cushion, and Julia Edwards allowed three hits with seven strikeouts as the Black Tornado breezed past Sheldon, 8-3, Tuesday night.

Tlascala finished 2-for-3 with three runs and two RBIs in the Southwest Conference softball victory, with Edwards going the distance inside the circle with four walks.

Maili Hamlin and Becca Tuivanu each went 2-for-4 for the Black Tornado (15-4, 10-2 SWC), who held onto a half-game lead over Roseburg atop the conference standings.

The league leaders split a conference doubleheader Saturday, snapping a seven-game winning streak for North.

SOUTH MEDFORD 11, SOUTH EUGENE 1, 5 inn.: At Eugene, South Medford earned its fifth straight victory to move within a half-game of third place in the SWC of Grants Pass entering Saturday’s doubleheader.

Coming off a sweep of Willamette, the Panthers (14-7, 8-7 SWC) returned to Eugene for a second straight day and saw Ashlyn Cooper strikeout 12 and allow two hits with one walk in a complete-game effort.

Luna Burns went 2-for-2 with two runs and four RBIs, while Danika Ostvik was 3-for-4 with two runs and two RBIs and Hannah Turpin went 2-for-3 with one run and one RBI to pace South Medford.

CRATER 12, EAGLE POINT 1, 6 inn.: At Eagle Point, Danika Brackett and Amanda Hammer each hit a home run to power Crater to a key Midwestern League win that allowed the Comets to pull even with Eagle Point for second place in a tight battle with Thurston for first place.

Hammer finished 3-for-4 with two runs and four RBIs, while Brackett was 2-for-4 with two runs and two RBIs, Allyson Nottingham went 2-for-2 with three runs and one RBI and Abbey Canfield plated two runs for Crater (11-8, 8-2 MWL).

Khloe Cochran and Ady Thayer also had two hits apiece for the Comets.

Eagle Point (11-7, 8-2) managed only two hits against Nottingham: a double by Sarah Estes and single from Kady Ledbetter.

Baseball

SHELDON 5, NORTH MEDFORD 4: North Medford put the tying run on base in each of the final two innings but couldn’t push the baserunner across to come up short in the SWC contest.

The Black Tornado fell into a 5-0 hole in the second inning but were able to use a three-run fifth inning to create an opportunity in the end.

Sheldon committed three of its four errors in the fifth, with Dominic Daffron driving in Easton Curtis before scoring on one of those errors, and Cade Pettersen later adding another RBI single. North (13-7, 8-5 SWC) had runners on second and third base when Sheldon was able to get an inning-ending groundout.

The Black Tornado stand one game behind Roseburg in the SWC title race.

Curtis, Brady Patterson, Colton Miller and Pettersen each had two hits for North, with Daffron driving in two runs.

SOUTH MEDFORD 12, SOUTH EUGENE 3: At Eugene, South Medford earned its third straight win to move one game out of second place and a half-game from third in the SWC standings.

The Panthers improved to 13-8 overall and 8-7 in league play.

CASCADE CHRISTIAN 18, ST. MARY’S 0, 5 inn.: C.J. Bonner drove in four runs on two hits and Cascade Christian used a 13-run second inning to separate from St. Mary’s for the Southern Oregon Conference win at Lithia & Driveway Fields.

Bryson Walker went 2-for-3 with three runs and on eRBI, and Grady Sickler was 2-for-3 with two runs and two RBIs for the Challengers (16-4, 9-1 SOC).

Tyler Archie and Hudson Eiler had the lone hits for St. Mary’s (1-16, 0-10).

PHOENIX 12-7, KLAMATH UNION 2-5: At Klamath Falls, Chris Phillips pitched his third straight complete game in the opener and Caden Cunningham combined to go 2-for-4 with six RBIs in the doubleheader sweep as Phoenix boosted its winning streak to six games.

Connor Cunningham went 3-for-5 with two RBIs and Lucca Petrone added two hits and three RBIs for Phoenix (9-8, 7-5 Skyline) in the opener, where Phillips allowed three hits with nine strikeouts and three walks.

In Game 2, Cadon Darcy came on in the fourth inning to quiet a potential surge by the Pelicans, and allowed two hits with seven strikeouts and three walks to earn the win in relief.

Girls Tennis

SOUTH MEDFORD 5, ASHLAND 3: Alexis Uschold continued a strong spring at No. 1 singles for South Medford with a 6-0, 6-3 win over Ashland’s Veronica Miller to highlight a narrow win by the Panthers, who won three of the four singles matches.

SINGLES: Alexis Uschold, SM, d. Veronica Miller, 6-0, 6-3; Claudia Stadtmueller, Ash, d. Metali Mahar, 6-3, 6-1; Avery Miller, SM, d. Parker Wildman, 6-1, 6-3; Ellie Buchta, SM, d. Leone Di Properzio, 6-4, 4-6, 10-5.

DOUBLES: Thea Vogel-Alice Pearson-Albano, Ash, d. Birkley Maddox-Gabby Spence, 6-2, 6-1; Rosetta Boney-Iris Paulick, Ash, d. Camden Allen-Valentina Soto, 7-6, 7-6; Izzy Brooksby-Edith Israelsen, SM, d. Sophia Williams-Opal Stagg, 6-1, 6-1; Cailin Grady-Taizi Whitney, SM, d. Elliot Mallory-Maia Moress, 6-0, 6-3.

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