KLAMATH FALLS – The Doc Stewart’s American Legion baseball team dropped a pair of one-run games in a league doubleheader against the Klamath Falls Falcons on Tuesday. It took extra innings to decide game one, but the Doc’s fell short in a 6-5 decision. The Falcons held off a late Doc’s rally in game two to earn the sweep 5-4.
The Doc’s scored first in both contests, but couldn’t hold off the hot-hitting Falcons. Yet, the Doc’s also managed to take advantage of a combined 11 errors by Klamath Falls to rally and make each game close at the end.
Game one saw the Doc’s pull ahead 1-0 in the top of the first on a Chris Stone double, but the Falcons tied the contest in the home half of the inning. Klamath Falls added three runs on five hits in the second inning to pull ahead 4-1.
The Doc’s got back to within one run in the fourth by scoring twice. Zack Watkins came in on a wild pitch and Cody Gray scored after the Falcons’ catcher threw a dropped third strike errantly to first base.
Klamath Falls stretched its lead back to two in the bottom of the fourth on a triple by Hunter Rasica. The score remained 5-3 until the Doc’s scored unearned runs in the sixth and the seventh to tie the game up. The Doc’s game-tying run was scored by Stone on a wild pitch.
The game stayed tied and went to extra innings. Klamath Falls finally broke the stalemate and won 6-5 on a sacrifice fly by Brandon Tron.
Neither starting pitcher factor into the decision. Roseburg’s Cody Gray suffered the loss, his first of the year.
Game two played out much the same. The Doc’s took a 1-0 lead early, but found themselves trailing 4-1 not long after. It seemed the Doc’s might have already started to pack it in after giving up the lead early on. The team managed just two hits through five innings against Falcons’ starter Heath Rasica.
Yet, the Doc’s once again rallied late thanks to Klamath Falls errors to make things interesting. With two outs in the sixth inning, Cam Lierman rolled a grounder to second baseman Payton Poe, who bobbled the ball and could not make the final out of the inning.
Lierman started a string of three straight runs for the Doc’s when he came home on a double hit by Will Reddekopp. Reddekopp advanced to third on the play when the relay throw to the infield got away and later scored on a single by Treven Jacks. Jacks moved into scoring position by stealing second base and moved to third when the throw from catcher McCrae Hamilton flew into centerfield. Jacks scored the Doc’s third run of the inning and tied the game at 4-4 on a Zack Watkins double.
But the momentum was short lived for the Doc’s. Klamath Falls’ Ky Sturgeon lead off the bottom of the sixth with a walk. A passed ball moved him to second base and a groundout pushed him up to third. Sturgeon scored the game-winning run on a wild pitch by Doc’s starter Will Reddekopp.
Both pitchers went the distance in the nightcap. Reddekopp suffered his second loss of the year.
The Doc’s have now lost three straight and will face a busy stretch of games later this week. The team has an off-day Wednesday before hosting an Australia traveling team and the Corvallis Gerding Builders Marketmen on Thursday. Then the Doc’s will host a tournament Friday through Sunday at Legion Field. All told, the Doc’s will play seven games in four days.
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— 1490 The Score (@KSKRTheScore) October 24, 2024