Postseason baseball makes its return to Roseburg’s Bill Gray Legion Stadium at Champion Car Wash Field over the next five days as the Clint Newell Dr. Stewart’s team plays host to the American Legion Class AAA state tournament.

It’s a moment long in the making, as the Docs have known since the start of the summer that they’ll have a chance to play for a state title on their home turf.

The six-week long regular season has served as a sort of trial run for the Docs and head coach Jeremiah Robbins says it’s been a mixed bag.

“We’ve seen championship baseball out of this team and we’ve seen two-and-out baseball from this team. If they make the choice to play the game the right way and be great teammates, we’ll make a run in this thing,” Robbins said.

On paper, this Dr. Stewart’s roster is filled with championship level talent. Yet there have been times when something’s been missing.

“You know, over my years of being a part of teams it always comes down to that team chemistry and trust,” said Robbins, who coached Lewis-Clark State to three NAIA national championships. “When you trust, you’re going to take risks and that’s something our team hasn’t done a lot this year. We’ve kind of played safe and you don’t win a lot of baseball games by playing safe.

“You’ve got to be a little bit reckless and play with your hair on fire and hopefully we’ll do that.”

A common refrain from Robbins is that members of the Docs play for the name on the front, not the one on the back. When you play for Dr. Stewart’s, you’re playing for something bigger.

That point was hammered home leading up to the state tournament when the Roseburg Legion program reached out to alumni to raise funds to cover the costs of running the tourney.

Within 36 hours, over 60 alumni stepped up to the plate and helped cover the numerous expenses that come with putting on a major tournament. A perfect example of the lifelong connection players make while playing for Dr. Stewart’s.

“We’re one of the last few programs left that is that special,” Robbins said. “Our guys need to understand that, and it goes back to what I was talking about, sacrificing that ego for something that’s bigger than all of us.”

“It just shows the impact that our team can have on people all around and people that have been through the program, how much it means to them,” Docs shortstop Kade Johnson said in regards to the alumni stepping up.

“We really want to do good for the community that supports us and it’s just great to see that people are still involved and love the Doc Stewart’s.”

The Docs hope to reward that support with another strong showing in the state tournament.

Last year, Roseburg reached the fourth day of the tourney before getting eliminated by Medford. The Mustangs outlasted the Docs 6-5 in a 12-inning marathon.

“That feeling of walking off (the field) after (Medford’s) Tanner Douglas hit the curveball to right field (for the win). I won’t forget it. That’s not a good feeling and I don’t want to feel it again this year,” Docs second baseman Sebastian Watson said.

Watson is one of a handful of players on the current roster that were on the field for that loss last summer. Dominic Tatone was also in the lineup and has similar feelings to Watson.

“I’m blessed to get another shot at this. It’s no fun walking off your field, losing to another team on your home field and then watch them carry out through the state championship,” Tatone said.

“Some of us got one last shot at this. Some younger guys will get another chance, but I think it’s a huge opportunity that we need to take advantage of. So, like just have no regret. We’re going to leave this field in five days with either a dogpile or a loss. We need to make sure we do everything we can to say I went 100% and what happened, happened.”

Robbins says the tournament field is wide open and the championship is anyone’s to be had.

The Emerald Challengers from the Eugene/Springfield area are the defending state champs after they upended Medford 6-2 in the title game in 2021, stopping a run of six consecutive state championships for the Mustangs.

Medford claimed the Area 4 title over the Challengers this season and secured an automatic berth in the tourney. The Post 6 Barbers (Hillsboro) and Salem-Withnell Dodgers also earned berths as the Area 2 and 3 champs, respectively.

The final four teams to reach the tournament will be determined through four play-in games on Friday at Champion Car Wash Field.

Portland Eastside squares off with the Post 58 Crushers at 10 a.m. The Beaverton Sockeyes take on the Corvallis Gerding Builders Marketmen at 1 p.m, the Challengers face the Mid-Coast (Newport) Dungies at 4 p.m. and the Sherwood Lobos and Post 20 Dirtbags finish out the play-in round at 7 p.m.

The Docs will play their first-round game at 7 p.m. Saturday against the Sherwood-Dallas winner.

“We’ve just got to focus on one game at a time. We can’t look too far ahead,” Tatone said. “Game after game after game, if we keep winning, we’ll find a way there.”

“You’ve got to be resilient in this thing. I think that would be the biggest thing these guys need to understand. This tournament will be a grind,” Robbins added.

Once the tournament gets underway, it’s a double-elimination format with a winner crowned on Wednesday. The Oregon state champ will advance to play in the Northwest Regional at Hladky Memorial Stadium in Gillette, Wyoming, Aug. 3-7.