The Roseburg Dr. Stewart’s take the field before the season opener against Mid-Valley on Sunday.

ROSEBURG – The Roseburg Dr. Stewart’s battled nerves early on against the visiting Mid-Valley SouthPaws, but managed to split a non-league doubleheader to begin the 2018 American Legion season on Sunday.

The Doc’s fell behind early in game one of the twin bill and wound up losing 12-7 to Mid-Valley. In game two, it was Roseburg that jumped out to an early lead and the Doc’s managed to hold off the SouthPaws for a 7-6 victory.

Mid-Valley (1-4) built a 6-0 lead in the first two innings of the opener. Doc’s starter Zack Mandera gave up five runs in the first inning on five hits and an error. The SouthPaws added another run in the second off Mandera, who pitched four innings and allowed nine hits, but struck out six.

Despite trailing by six, the Doc’s fought back with runs in the fourth through seventh innings, but it wasn’t enough to overcome the early deficit. Roseburg’s Garrett Russell, Luke Lucido, and Kyler Leischner all had multiple hits and extra base hits.

Russell went 2-for-3 in the leadoff position with a triple. Lucido hit a two-run homer in the fifth inning to get the Doc’s back within three-runs and finished 2-for-3. Leischner went 2-for-4 with a double and a RBI.

The Doc’s continued to find their offensive rhythm in game two. An RBI groundout by Brody Black gave Roseburg a 1-0 lead in the first. Russell drove in a run in the second with a two-out single. And Jonathan Stone scored on a fielding error in the third to give the Doc’s a 3-0 advantage.

Mid-Valley finally broke through against Doc’s starter Jace Stoffal in the fourth inning. The SouthPaws took advantage of Stoffal’s inaccuracy to score three runs and tie the game. Stoffal issued three of his six walks in the fourth inning and was lifted for Cade Meisner.

The Doc’s (1-1) regained a three-run lead with three runs in the bottom of the fourth. Yet, the SouthPaws scored three runs off of Meisner in the fifth to tie the game for a second time.

The game-winning run for Roseburg came in the home half of the fifth. Doran Gillespie reached on a leadoff single and stole second base to get into scoring position. Jett Black brought Gillespie across the plate with a one-out single.

The lead held up as Payton Hope tossed a perfect sixth inning, striking out two, and Brody Black earned a save in the seventh by inducing a double play to end the game.

Russell went 2-for-3 in the nightcap to finish a combined 4-for-6 on the day. He also added a RBI and a run scored. He was hit by a pitch once in each game.

Up next, the Roseburg Dr. Stewart’s will host a Grants Pass High School team on Monday at 5:30 p.m. Tune in for coverage of the game on CBS Sports Radio 1490 The Score or watch the game streaming on 541radio.com.

GAME ONE
Mid-Valley 510;021;3 – 12;13;1
Dr. Stewart’s 000;231;1 – 7;9;3
Lien, Lopez (4), Bliss (6) and Cyrus, Karo (6). Mandera, N. Burke (5), Borschowa (7) and Leischner. W – Jayce Lien. L – Zack Mandera (0-1).
2B: Hartsell (MV), Leischner (R). 3B: Holder (MV), Perrizo (MV), Russell (R). HR: Lucido (R).

GAME TWO
Mid-Valley 000;330;0 – 6;7;4
Dr. Stewart’s 111;310;X – 7;6;2
Holder, Cyrus (3), Beach (5) and Efraimson. Stoffal, Meisner (4), Hope (6), B. Black (7) and G. Burke. W – Cade Meisner (1-0). L – Caleb Beach. S – Brody Black (1).
2B: Efraimson (MV).

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