Cheney shines as Roseburg hangs on for 7-6 win at West Salem
By Knight Jarecki
SALEM — It wasn’t easy, but the Roseburg Indians hung on for a 7-6 nonleague victory against West Salem thanks to 4 1/3 innings of strong pitching from Rylee Cheney on Wednesday.
Despite leading 7-2 entering the bottom of the seventh inning, Roseburg (14-6 overall) was pushed to the edge after West Salem (8-12) led off the frame with five straight hits — including three doubles — to put the tying run in scoring position with no outs.
Dane St. Clair took over on the mound and helped get the final three outs to earn the save in the Indians’ final nonleague game of the regular season.
Cheney was excellent for the Indians, allowing one hit and one unearned run.
“My fastball was working,” Cheney said. “I located outside and up and they couldn’t hit it.”
The junior recently allowed seven runs on five hits across three innings of relief against North Medford on Saturday, but bounced back with one of his best performances of the season. Cheney was pulled in the fifth inning due to a 60-pitch limit to preserve his arm for Saturday’s doubleheader at Sheldon.
“I just wasn’t in the right mindset (Saturday) and today my mindset was to just come out here and throw strikes and make them try and hit it,” Cheney said.
Roseburg got off to a strong start, bringing 10 batters to the plate in the top of the first and scored five runs on three hits and an error, capped by Kaden Austin’s two-run single with two outs.
“I knew I needed to get the ball down and I just hit it hard,” Austin said. “That was a great inning. It’s always good to score multiple runs in an inning.”
The Indians’ 5-0 lead was short-lived as West Salem scored a run in the bottom of the first on an RBI groundout by Cole Hansen. Cheney settled in after that and faced the minimum for the remainder of his outing. He handed things over to freshman Danner Wertz after recording the first out of the fifth.
“I definitely could’ve finished the inning, but I had the pitch limit and I gotta let the younger guy come in and get some reps,” Cheney said.
Wertz entered the fifth inning with a 6-1 lead thanks to a Luke Robbins RBI single that drove in his brother Cal Robbins in the top half of the inning. Wertz navigated his way through traffic in the fifth and sixth innings, allowing one run on three hits across both frames before struggling in the seventh.
The Indians led 7-2 heading to the bottom of the seventh and Wertz needed just three outs to finish the game. Things went sideways as Wertz gave up a double, single, double, single and another double to the first five batters of the inning, bringing in five runs and putting the tying run in scoring position.
St. Clair was then thrust into the high-pressure situation and helped the Indians record the final three outs by forcing two straight groundouts after Aiden Rock, the runner representing the tying-run at second base, was picked off by Amos Bowers on a failed bunt attempt for the innings’ first out.
The Indians finished with a 5-2 record in nonleague play. Roseburg currently sits atop of the Southwest Conference standings with a 9-4 record and will play third place Sheldon (10-9, 8-6 SWC) in a massive twin bill starting at 10 a.m. Saturday in Eugene.
Roseburg 500 011 0 — 7 6 1
W. Salem 100 001 4 — 6 8 1
Cheney, Wertz (5), St. Clair (7) and Bowers; C. Garland, Parker (6), Fredinburg (7) and Howard. W — Cheney (2-2). L — C. Garland. SV — St. Clair (2). 2B — Wertz (R), Rock (WS), Howard (WS), McDonald (WS), Garland (WS), C. Hansen (WS).
