ROSEBURG – It took nearly a month, but the Roseburg baseball team finally played its home-opener at Legion Field on Monday. The Indians split a conference doubleheader against the South Medford Panthers to remain one-game above .500 in the Southwest Conference.
Zack Mandera pitched six-shutout innings in game one to lead the Indians to a 4-0 victory. The sophomore allowed just three hits and struck out six to earn his third win of the season.
Roseburg was held hitless over the first three innings, but the Tribe broke through in the fourth. Sophomore Kaden Seely hit a two-out single to begin a streak of five straight hits that resulted in four runs. Carson Townsend, Terrell Jacks, Brendan Ibarra, and Spencer Six all drove in runs during the fourth inning. Townsend and Six each hit doubles during the scoring stretch.
Game two featured another strong pitching performance, but this time it was by the Panthers. South Medford senior Ethan Whitney allowed just three hits over seven innings and gave up just one run to earn a 4-1 victory.
The game was scoreless until the third inning when South Medford junior Jaalen Owens hit a two-run homer off Roseburg starter Cody Johnson to put the Panthers up 2-0.
The Indians responded in the bottom of the third inning with their only run of the game. Terrell Jacks hit a leadoff double and Garrett Russell took over on the bases as a courtesy runner for the catcher. Russell scored to batters later when Six hit a ground ball to second base.
South Medford extended its lead with two more runs in the fourth inning. Daniel Shenk and Jacob Melton hit back-to-back doubles with one out to score one run. Melton later a throwing errors by the Indians to make the score 4-1.
Roseburg is now tied for fourth place in the Southwest Conference with North Medford, but the Indians only trail first place by half a game. Sheldon and South Eugene are currently tied for first with 4-2 records.
Up next, the Indians will host Sheldon for a single conference game on Tuesday. First pitch is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. Tune in for coverage of the game starting at 4:15 p.m. on 1490 The Score or watch the game online at 541radio.com.
GAME ONE
SOUTH MEDFORD 000; 000; 0 – 0 4 0
ROSEBURG 000; 400; X – 4 7 2
WP: Zack Mandera (3-1)
LP: Jack Thompson
GAME TWO
SOUTH MEDFORD 002; 200; 0 – 4 8 1
ROSEBURG 001; 000; 0 – 1 3 6
WP: Ethan Whitney
LP: Cody Johnson (1-2)
