The Dr. Stewart’s American Legion baseball team stumbled out of the gate in a league doubleheader against Medford on Wednesday at Bill Gray Stadium at Legion Field, but the Docs fought back to sweep the Mustangs and move into third place in the Area 4 standings.
“When you get punched in the face you got to get back up,” said Docs coach Jeremiah Robbins. “We got punched in the face early and got back up and started punching back.”
The Docs (23-16; 8-10 Area 4) rallied from an early 3-0 deficit to win 5-4 in extra innings in game one. In the second game, Roseburg finished the sweep with a 10-0 win in five innings and stretched their season-high win streak to six games.
Dr. Stewart’s won the season series against Medford (24-20; 8-10) for the first time in at least five summers, something that didn’t escape the most tenured player on the squad.
“Medford has a history of being a pretty good club and kicking out some pretty good ball players,” said third-year player Cody Johnson. “So any time you can take it to Medford and get five out of six against those guys, we’ll take it any day.”
Roseburg’s Jace Stoffal and Medford’s Skyler Guadern went toe-to-toe in the first game. Both pitchers faced adversity early on, but battled through to pitch the whole way through.
Stoffal gave up five hits in the second inning and surrendered three runs to the Mustangs. A wild pitch scored Dylan Marsh to put Medford up 1-0 and Josh Baptiste and Bennett Thompson each drove in a run.
Jett Black got the Docs on the board in the home half of the second inning with a double, but a base-running error cut the scoring chance short.
The Mustangs stretched the lead back to three runs with an unearned run in the third, but Stoffal shut down Medford and allowed just one hit and no runs from the fourth inning through the eighth.
Doran Gillespie got the Docs within 4-2 with a two-out triple in the third and Jonathan Stone drove in a run to put the Docs behind by just a run.
Dr. Stewart’s tied the game in the fourth on a sacrifice fly by Cade Meisner. Then Stoffal took over.
“Us really getting the bats going, that helped,” Stoffal explained. “Then just having my team behind me, knowing that they’re going to back me up no matter what I do.”
Stoffal finished with six strikeouts and just one walk over eight innings. He allowed only three unearned runs on eight hits to pick up his fifth win of the season.
The Docs had a chance to win the game in regulation, but couldn’t bring home the go-ahead run in the seventh despite having the bases loaded with only one out.
In the eighth, Dr. Stewart’s put the pressure on Guadern again and Spencer Six delivered a clutch two-out single to right field to score Jacob Luther for the win.
Guadern gave up 15 hits and five earned runs over 7 ⅔ innings. He walked three and struck out one.
Every Docs batter finished with a hit, led by Caden Johnson who went 3-for-4. The Docs also had four extra base hits against Guadern.
The nightcap saw the Docs score in all five innings of the game, which was shortened due to the 10-run rule.
Caden Johnson went 2-for-4 with 3 RBI against Medford starter Steven Ledendecker, while Luther and Stoffal each drove in two.
Drake Borschowa allowed just three hits to Medford in the shutout. He finished with six strikeouts and only one walk as he earned his fifth win of the season.
“Definitely playing our best baseball right now,” said Stoffal. “And it’s definitely the right time to be playing our best baseball. Making a great run for the playoffs and hopefully we can get there.”
Dr. Stewart’s can clinch a spot in a best-of-three Super Regional with one win against Klamath Falls in the final games of the regular season on Thursday. One loss for Grants Pass against Medford in their final league games on Thursday would also put the Docs in the postseason.
“We’re starting to play good baseball here late. That’s something that’s very important,” said Robbins. “You want to be a hot team going into a regional. We’ve got to sustain it and stay focused.”
The Docs and Falcons meet at Legion Field for game one at 6 p.m. Thursday. If the Docs reach the postseason, their Super Regional would begin on Monday against an opponent to be determined.
First game
Medford 031 000 00 — 4 8 0
Roseburg 012 100 01 — 5 15 1
Guadern and Thompson; Stoffal and Six. WP — Stoffal, 5-2. LP — Guadern, 4-3. 2B — Dylan Marsh (M), Black (R), Cody Johnson (R), Stone (R). 3B — Gillespie (R).
Second game
Medford 000 00 — 0 3 4
Roseburg 113 41 — 10 9 0
Ledendecker, Shields (4) and Thompson, Passey; Borschowa and Six. WP — Borschowa, 5-2. LP — Ledendecker. 2B — Caden Johnson (R).
