Paxton, Eagle Point split with Crater

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CENTRAL POINT — Jamie Paxton provided the big bat in the second game as Eagle Point salvaged a league-opening Southern Sky softball doubleheader against defending state Class 5A champion Crater Saturday.

The Comets rode the pitching of Brittany Reeves to a 6-1 victory in the opener, but the Eagles rallied for a 7-4 win in the eight-inning nightcap.

In Game 2, Crater led 4-2 entering the seventh inning when Paxton's one-out double started the two-run rally to send the game into extra innings.

After Paxton's double, Charee Dale singled up the middle to cut the Eagles deficit to 4-3. Dale took second on the throw to the plate on the play. With two outs, Comet shortstop Sarah Smith couldn't handle a grounder off the bat of No. 9 hitter Chloe Hanson and Dale scored from second on the error.

In the eighth, Jen Fernandes reached base on a passed ball on a strikeout. After back-to-back walks to Karlie Stephens and Ashley Josephson to load the bases, the Comets got a force out at home. Then Paxton stepped up and smacked her second double of the game that cleared the bases.

"We felt as a team, we let it slip away," said Crater seventh-year coach Chris Arnold. "Eagle Point battled and never lost their composure."

Crater (8-3, 1-1 SSC) grabbed a 3-0 first-inning lead when Emily Morrill opened with a double and, one-out later, Ashleigh Larson doubled in the first run. Amanda Bates followed with a two-run homer.

In the opener, Reeves struck out seven and walked three to run her record to 7-0 before taking the loss in the nightcap. In the second game, Reeves struck out nine and walked three but facing 35 batters took its toll on the junior.

"(Reeves) had to dig deep to get through two complete games," said Arnold. "She was not as crisp or sharp as she had been earlier. She didn't have command of all her pitches, but made some smart decisions to compensate. That was more than we asked from her all season."

Eagle Point (8-3, 1-1 SSC) stranded nine runners in Game 1.

"Eagle Point has some very strong hitters," said Arnold. "Reeves worked her way out of some jams by keeping the ball down in the zone."

Crater scored one run in the first on consecutive singles by Kara Perdue, Larson and Bates.

The Comets added two more in the second. Freshman Sarah Haga started the rally with a one-out single and Dennae Grant reached on an error. Perdue delivered an RBI single, then Larson's grounder was booted, allowing another run to score.

Larson and Perdue collected two hits each for the Comets, while Paxton led the Eagles with two hits.

FIRST GAME

Eagle Point 001 000 0 — 1 7 6

Crater 120 003 x — 6 10 2

Stephens and Dale; Reeves and Haga. W — Reeves (7-0). L — Stephens.

SECOND GAME

Eagle Point 002 00 23 — 7 8 2

Crater 300 010 00 — 4 6 1

Hanson, Stephens (6) and Dale; Reeves and Haga. W — Stephens (6-2). L — Reeves (7-1). 2B — EP: Jolliffe, Paxton 2, Hanson; C: Larson, Morrill. HR — C: Bates.

ASHLAND 11-3, MAZAMA 1-0 — At Ashland, Bella Pribyl recorded two more victories, running her record to 12-1 as Ashland swept Mazama in a Southern Sky Conference doubleheader.

Pribyl fanned 12 in both contests and allowed only one run in the opener — an RBI single from the Vikings' Kelsea MacPhee.

Hayley Ross went 2-for-3, scored two runs and drove in a pair for the Grizzlies (13-1, 2-0 SSC) in Game 1. Also for Ashland, Sarah Silbowitz had a home run, and along with teammates Sammi Gilbert and Amanda Good, went 2-for-4, drove in a run and scored.

Kylie Gilbert went 3-for-3 in the nightcap and singled home Ashland's first-inning run.

FIRST GAME

Mazama 000 100 — 1 2 4

Ashland 002 063 — 11 13 0

Edwards and Whiteley; Pribyl and Cantrell. W — Pribyl (11-1). L — Edwards. 2B — M: Kasper; A: Ross. HR — A: Silbowitz.

SECOND GAME

Mazama 000 000 0 — 0 1 2

Ashland 100 101 x — 3 6 1

Edwards and Whiteley; Pribyl and Cantrell. W — Prybil (12-1). 2B — M: Pinner.

Baseball

CRATER 14-9, MAZAMA 3-3 — At Klamath Falls, senior Steven Ruvalcaba paced the Crater offense that collected 25 hits in the twin bill league opener at Kiger Stadium.

Ruvalcaba had three hits and four RBIs in the opener, then added two more hits and two RBIs in Game 2.

Comet junior outfielder Kos Ray also had five hits to go with three RBIs on the day.

Bryce Peila and Jordan Higbee accounted for three hits each in the six-inning opener for Crater. (8-3, 2-0 SSC)

FIRST GAME

Crater 045 212 — 14 15 3

Mazama 003 000 — 3 6 4

Kathol, Bighouse (5) and Higbee; Rookstool, J. Nelson (4) and Reinhard. W — Kathol. L — Rookstool. 2B — C: Peila 2, Ray; M: Bocchi.

SECOND GAME

Crater 200 214 0 — 9 10 3

Mazama 002 100 0 — 3 4 2

Zelecki, Sanford (3) and Higbee; White, Reinhard (5) and A. McDaniel. W — Sanford. L — White. 2B — C: Boskovich.

EAGLE POINT 5-5, KLAMATH UNION 3-8 — At Eagle Point, Eagle Point used two big innings to claim Game 1 of a Southern Sky Conference doubleheader with Klamath Union.

Tied 3-all in the bottom of the fourth inning, Branden Davis and Garrett Davis both scored on wild pitches to give the Eagles (4-5, 1-1 SSC) enough insurance to secure the victory in the opener.

Darin Adams, Ben Charlton and Derek Tuttle all pushed across runs for the Eagles' in the first inning before KU's Jake Wardenburg evened the score with a two-out two-run single in the top of the third.

In Game 2, the Pelicans got two runs on four of Eagle Point's six errors.

Charlton's solo home run led off the third inning for the Eagles and knotted the game 4-all, but the Pelicans slowly pulled away.

FIRST GAME

Klamath Union 003 000 0 — 3 5 2

Eagle Point 300 200 x — 5 5 1

Wardenburg and Clair, Cox (2); F. Charlton and Adams. W — F. Charlton (3-1). L — Wardenburg.

SECOND GAME

Klamath Union 004 101 2 — 8 9 2

Eagle Point 211 000 1 — 5 10 6

Brown and Cox; R. Smith, B. Smith (5) and Adams. W — Brown. L — R. Smith (0-2). 2B — KU: Cox, Rogers; EP: Adams, Tuttle. HR — EP: B. Charlton.

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