SANDY, OR – The Roseburg Doc Stewart’s baseball team ran up against a buzzsaw in a 2-1 loss to Advanced Metals of Gresham in the opener of their Super Regional series at Sandy High School on Friday night.

Gresham’s Dru Fitz allowed just two hits and struck out 13 Doc’s hitters in seven innings of work. The only run he allowed came in the seventh inning when he issued a walk to Will Reddekopp, who later scored on a two-out wild pitch.

Fitz had a competition on his hands, as Doc’s starter Roy Benzel did an equally good job of keeping the Gresham squad in check. Benzel pitched all eight innings and allowed just four hits and two unearned runs. The lefty also struck out four, while walking none.

The Doc’s didn’t do themselves any favors defensively. The team committed two errors allowing two Gresham runs. Advanced Metals took a 1-0 lead in the first inning after leadoff man Brock Emery hit a single and advanced to second on an error by left fielder Cam Lierman. Emery moved to third on a sacrifice bunt  and scored on a sacrifice fly by Fitz.

Gresham added to its lead with another run in the fifth. Grayson Fenwick reached base on an error by shortstop Shawn Rigsby and later scored on a two-out single by Rhys Atkinson.

Despite the lack of hits, the Doc’s did have opportunities to score. The Doc’s left five men in scoring position during the contest. The biggest missed chance came in the seventh inning. Roseburg had runners at first and third with no outs. The Doc’s managed to score once, but three straight balls on the infield ended the inning with Lierman standing on third as the game-tying run.

The Doc’s also got the game-tying run to third in the eighth inning, but again couldn’t find a way to score.

The series continues on Saturday and the Doc Stewart’s face elimination. A win would in game two of the series would force a winner-take-all game three. The winner of the series moves on to the state tournament in Salem to face Corvallis.

The Doc’s and Gresham Advanced Metals square off in game two at 12 p.m. Pregame coverage starts at 11:45 a.m. on 1490 The Score and online at 541radio.com on the Doc Stewart’s Homepage.

SCORES BY INN. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 – R H E
ROSEBURG        0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 – 1 2 2
GRESHAM         1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 X – 2 4 3
W: Dru Fitz
L: Roy Benzel (3-2)
S: Brock Emery