EUGENE — The Roseburg Clint Newell Dr. Stewart’s dropped an Area 4 doubleheader against the Emerald Challengers on Tuesday at Swede Johnson Staduim and finished league play with a winless record.
The Challengers held off the Docs for a 4-2 win in the opener and ended the twin bill with a 15-10 win in the nightcap. The Eugene/Springfield based team will now square off with Medford in a four-game series over the weekend for the Area 4 championship.
As for the Docs, the Roseburg team ended league play with an 0-8 record.
Sloppy defensive play was once again at the root of Roseburg’s troubles. The Docs committed nine errors between the two games combined.
Game 1 was tied 2-2 through five innings of play, but the Challengers (35-11, 4-0 Area 4) capitalized on a fielding error by shortstop Kade Johnson to pull ahead 4-2 in the bottom of the sixth.
Johnson misplayed a grounder that could have led to the third out, but instead allowed the first of two runs to score and the inning continued. The Challengers got back-to-back singles by the next two batters to bring home the second run.
Roseburg (18-17, 0-8) managed to get two runners in scoring position in the seventh inning, but were unable to pull off the comeback.
Ever Lamm was tacked with the loss after tossing all six innings, allowing four runs on seven hits while walking six and striking out two. Lamm did not allow an earned run.
Johnson and Braxton Dill each drove in runs for the Docs.
Roseburg started Game 2 on the right foot, scoring three runs in the first inning against Challengers starter Troy Anderson.
A walk to Austin Takahashi followed by back-to-back doubles by Sebastian Watson and Johnson got the first two runs on the board and Knox Hubbard had the first of three hits to plate a third run.
Hubbard finished the second game 3-for-4 with four RBI.
Roseburg’s lead didn’t last long as more mistakes proved costly in the bottom of the first inning. The Docs dropped a fly ball in left field that should have been the third out. The error resulted in a longer inning for Docs starter Blake Withers and three extra runs that could have been avoided.
The Challengers stretched their lead to 8-3 with four more runs in the second and plated another unearned run in the third for a 9-3 advantage.
The lead grew to 11-3 in the fourth on another error and two more doubles for the Challengers.
Things looked bleak for the Docs, but the team stiffened up and rallied for a pair of runs in the fifth on a two-out double by Hubbard.
Dominic Tatone drove in three runs with a double in the sixth inning as the Docs scored five more times to draw within 10-11.
The Challengers answered Roseburg’s rally with four runs in the sixth off reliever Jordan White and the hopes of a league win faded away for the Docs.
Despite the winless league season, the Dr. Stewart’s will qualify for the AAA American Legion state tournament as the host team. The tournament is slated to begin July 23 at Champion Car Wash Field.
The Challengers and Mustangs will play Saturday and Sunday to determine which team will earn an automatic berth in the tournament as the league champ. The second place team will be relegated to a play-in game to qualify for state.
Roseburg has four regular season games left on the schedule. The Docs will host Klamath Falls for a non-league doubleheader at noon on Saturday and then finish the regular season with a noon twin bill at Kiger Stadium in Klamath Falls on Sunday.
Game 1
Roseburg;001;100;0;—;2;7;4
Emerald;011;002;X;—;4;7;1
Lamm and Hubbard; Greene, Martinez (7) and Cook. W — Greene. L — Lamm (3-3). SV — Martinez. 2B — Dill (R), Vreim (E), Johannsen (E).
Game 2
Roseburg;300;025;0;—;10;12;5
Emerald;441;204;X;—;15;15;0
B. Withers, White (6) and Hubbard; Anderson, Vreim (6) and Koffler. W — Anderson. L — B. Withers (0-3). 2B — Watson (R), K. Johnson (R), Tatone (R), D. Withers (R), Hubbard (R), E. Crist (E), Starr (E), Butler (E). 3B — Butler (E). HR — Vreim (E).
