Three-run blast in sixth fells North Medford, 9-6

Beaverton High shortstop Kirk Nordness ended the state championship dream of North Medford's baseball team with one mighty swing on Monday.

Nordness slammed a three-run home run off North Medford pitcher K.C. Rumrey to cap a four-run sixth inning as the No. 2 Beavers won 9-6 at Miles Field.

The quarterfinal loss ended sixth-ranked North Medford's season. The Black Tornado, which won 17 straight before Monday, finished with a 23-6 record.

"It's been a good year for us," said North coach Brett Wolfe. "We won our first outright SOC (Southern Oregon Conference) title since 1994 and we got to the third round of the state playoffs. We have a lot to be proud of."

Although the Tornado's play was marked by wildness from Rumrey and by an erratic defense, it still led 4-3 entering the sixth inning.

Then Nordness turned the game around.

"I knew he (Rumrey) was getting a little tired," said Nordness. "Plus, he was behind in the count. I knew he had to come in with a good pitch."

Nordness clubbed a fastball over the center-field fence, nearly 390 feet away, giving Beaverton a 7-4 lead.

"I wanted a fastball," said Nordness. "He (Rumrey) was really throwing hard earlier, but I was able to time this one. He had lost some velocity."

Beaverton tied the score at 4-4 on a single by Glenn Levin just before Nordness' blast.

"The home run by Nordness ends up being the big hit of the game, but the single by Levin was also big," said Beaverton coach Ross Peterson. "Our guys kept battling. We hit the ball real well when we needed it after struggling against their pitcher early."

The Beavers didn't get a hit off Rumrey until the fifth inning and ended up with five hits.

"Their pitcher (Rumrey) battled real hard out there," said Peterson. "I like all of their kids. They seem like a bunch of class kids. But I've never not seen that out of Medford kids. It started with Jim McAbee's teams there."

Nordness was 2-for-3 and drove in four runs.

"He's capable of turning on a ball like he did in the sixth at any time," said Peterson. "He's strong and very quick with the bat."

North Medford took a 2-1 lead off winning pitcher Glenn Boss in the second inning on a two-run, bad-hop single to right field by Jarred Pagnini.

The Black Tornado added two more runs in the fourth. Lane Forsloff doubled and scored on a wild pitch, and Colby Gonzales singled in Pagnini with the second run.

Beaverton cut the North lead to 4-3 on a two-base throwing error by North Medford third baseman Steve DeClerck that allowed two runners to score.

Levin tied the game in the sixth on his run-scoring single prior to the game-winning 3-run homer by Nordness.

Nordness was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded in the seventh to gain his fourth RBI of the game. North scored twice in the bottom of the seventh when Jim Pickrel and T.J. Nipps both walked with the bases loaded.

Rumrey hit six batters and walked seven. Five of Beaverton's first seven runs came after runners reached base on walks or after being hit.

"K.C. gave a great effort,' said Wolfe. "They (the Beavers) put pressure on us and our defense didn't handle it very well."

North Medford made five errors in the game.

"We haven't done that since the first game of the season," said Wolfe. "That cost us some runs."

Beaverton...........................010 204 2 -- 9 5 2
North Medford....................020 200 2 -- 6 6 5