Roseburg’s Garrett Russell gets welcomed back to the dugout by teammates after driving in the first run for the Dr. Stewart’s in a 4-3 loss to Hillsboro. (PHOTO: Aaron Yost)

ROSEBURG – The American Legion baseball season came to an end for the Roseburg Dr. Stewart’s on Sunday night. The Stewies fell short with their late-game heroics and dropped a 4-3 decision against the Hillsboro Barbers in an elimination game at home in the AAA state tournament.

Hillsboro built a 4-0 lead with runs in the first, fourth and fifth. Roseburg starter Zack Mandera gave up two in the first on a double by Ian Lawson. Mandera was credited with another run in the fourth when a runner he walked scored on a wild pitch thrown by reliever Payton Hope.

Hope gave up a run of his own in the fifth on a single by Patrick Muskat, but the soon-to-be senior at Sutherlin settled in and held the Barbers scoreless over the final two frames.

The Doc’s battled back into the game with three runs in the bottom of the fifth. Garrett Russell started the scoring with a one-out sacrifice bunt to score Jett Black.

Roseburg then went on a two-out rally with three-straight singles that plated two more runs. Jonathan Stone and Luke Lucido each drove in runs, but the inning came to an end when reliever Michael Bennett struck out Cody Johnson with the tying run at second.

The Doc’s had the final at bats in the bottom of the seventh and aimed to at least force extra innings, but Bennett shut the door with a 1-2-3 inning to earn the save and help the Barbers advance in the tournament.

The Roseburg Dr. Stewart’s finished the season 22-22 overall after a third place finish in the Area 4 standings. The Doc’s went 0-2 in the state tournament, which they are hosting at Legion Field. It was the first tournament appearance for Roseburg since 2014.

The Dr. Stewart’s will have a large majority of the current team available to return next year. Garrett Russell and Kyler Leischner are the only players that will be too old to return in 2019. Zack Mandera is questionable to return next year as he pursues a college football career.

That still leaves the Doc’s with possible three-year players in Cody Johnson and Luke Lucido. Roseburg could also return regular starters at nearly every position.

Hillsboro advances to another elimination game on Monday against the Mid-Valley SouthPaws. The game will be played at 1 p.m. and streamed online at 541radio.com.

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