ROSEBURG — It turned out to be a tough night at the ballpark for the Roseburg Dr. Stewart’s on Monday. The Docs suffered a pair of league loses against Eugene and fell into a tie for third place in the Area 4 standings.
The Challengers (17-9; 6-2 Area 4) rallied in the seventh inning of game one to steal a 4-2 victory and Eugene finished the sweep with a 6-3 win in the nightcap.
The Docs (14-8; 5-5) led the Challengers for six innings in the opener.
Jonathan Stone drove in Spencer Six in the first inning to give Dr. Stewart’s a 1-0 edge and KC Pettibone scored in the second to put the Docs up 2-0.
Pettibone scored on a fielding error by catcher Conner Jones on a sacrifice bunt attempt by Caden Johnson. Eugene pitcher Cole Wilkinson fielded the bunt in front of the mound and tossed to the plate to get Pettibone, but Jones couldn’t hang on to the ball as he applied the tag.
Eugene cut the deficit in half with a run in the fifth inning. Jonathon Prescott hit a two-out single to left, driving in Kellar Edwards to make the score 2-1.
Jace Stoffal kept the Docs in front of Eugene into the seventh inning. The right-hander scattered eight hits, while striking out eight and walking two over 6 ⅓ innings. He exited the game with a 2-1 lead and had one out with a runner on first.
Eugene was able to load the bases on a double and an intentional walk against reliever Cody Johnson. Isaiah Lugo came through for the Challengers with a base-loaded, two-out pinch-hit single to push across two runs and give Eugene the lead. The Challengers stretched the advantage to 4-2 with another run on a wild pitch.
Dr. Stewart’s got two runners on base with two outs in the seventh, but couldn’t muster a comeback attempt. Cole Wilkinson tossed a complete game for the Challengers and struck out seven, while walking none.
In the nightcap, Eugene jumped ahead early with a run in the first and three more in the third against Docs’ starter Payton Hope.
The Docs slowly chipped away at the lead with runs in the third, fourth and sixth innings, but never managed to bust open a big inning against Eugene starter Kevin Pierson.
Roseburg got two runners on base in the bottom of the seventh and had the game-tying run at the plate, but reliever Jarrett Allen retired three straight hitters to preserve the victory and get a save.
With the losses, the Docs fell into a tie with Grants Pass for third place in the Area 4 standings. The Nuggets were swept at home by Willamette Valley on Monday.
The Nuggets and Docs are now both three-games behind league-leader Willamette Valley. The Docs are scheduled to face Willamette Valley on Tuesday in another league doubleheader. Game one of the series begins at 6 p.m. from the Hamlin Sports Complex in Springfield.
First game
Eugene 000 010 3 — 4 10 2
Roseburg 110 000 0 — 2 8 1
Wilkinson and Jones; Stoffal, Cody Johnson (7) and Six. WP — Wilkinson, 4-1. LP — Cody Johnson, 2-1. 2B — Morgan (E), Edwards (E).
Second game
Eugene 103 002 0 — 6 10 0
Roseburg 001 101 0 — 3 8 2
Pierson, Allen (7) and Woodcook, Jones; Hope, Zeimet (6) and Six. WP — Pierson, 2-0. LP — Hope, 2-1. SV — Allen, 1. 2B — Bracy (E), Edwards (E), Gillespie (R), Caden Johnson (R).