Prep Baseball: Roseburg looks to defend conference title with mix of new and old
The Roseburg Indians broke the ice on the 2026 season with a 3-1 victory over the West Salem Titans on a summer-like spring day Wednesday at Champion Car Wash Field.
A handful of players stepped between the lines for the first time or in a much bigger role as the Indians got the season started, but it was staples from last year that helped propel Roseburg to victory.
Danner Wertz, a sophomore who started eight games last year, tossed a complete-game one-hitter. He took a no-hitter into the sixth inning before giving up an RBI double to Dallin McDonald for West Salem’s only score of the game.
Paxton Burke, a three-year varsity starter, went 2-for-3 with an RBI triple and a run scored. The senior, who recently committed to Lewis-Clark State College for baseball, started at shortstop where he’ll be a field general for the Indians.
Mixed in around the rest of the diamond were a couple of seniors ready for a bigger role, a slew of juniors ready to break out and a freshman making his high school debut.
“We’re a good mix of some old, some young and some in between as far as grade level goes, but we have a great group that works well together up to this point and enjoy being around each other,” Roseburg coach Troy Thompson said. “(They have been) willing to put in a lot of time and effort to get to this point.”
Roseburg (1-0) graduated four all-Southwest Conference players from last year’s conference championship team. The Indians also saw standout sophomore Cal Robbins transfer to Idaho with his family. The departures left a number of gaps to fill for Thompson, who begins his 24th season leading the Tribe.
“They’re going to need to step up in a hurry,” Thompson said of the newer pieces on the roster. “Because they’re going to have a lot chances to play with our roster the way it is right now.”
Burke, a first team all-SWC infielder last year, said he and fellow senior Amos Bowers have tried to take on a leadership role with the younger players. “They’re listening pretty well and we like that quite a lot, because we like kids that can cooperate with us and are able to learn and wanting to learn,” Burke said.
Despite being just a sophomore, Wertz is an experienced player who earned second team all-SWC honors last year and he has also tried to step into a leadership role. “I’m helping all the younger kids that haven’t played at this level yet,” Wertz said.
Wednesday’s contest against West Salem (0-2) was a chance to see how the leadership has helped prepare the rest of the roster for the big stage.
Senior Brady Popken made his first start after limited varsity time last season. Juniors Fletcher Coleman, AJ Black and Nick Ruiz started after seeing solid action a year ago. Mason Young, an all-league transfer from Douglas High School, made his debut for the Indians and excelled defensively at second base.
“There’s a lot of kids who had anxiety for their first game on varsity, but those kids will click in here pretty fast,” Burke said.
“Our junior class is bigger and stronger,” Thompson said. “They’ve done a good job in the offseason in their other sports and in the weight room and pushed themselves to be bigger and stronger and hopefully that makes the game come to them a little bit easier.”
Coleman, who played in 20 games last year, and Ruiz saw success at the plate in the season-opener. Coleman walked twice and scored a run in the first inning when the Indians took a 2-0 lead. Ruiz was 1-for-1 with a double and he walked and scored a run in the fifth to give Roseburg a 3-0 lead.
Freshman Christian Korba got the start in center field, a rarity for the Indians. He went 1-for-3 at the plate, smacking an opposite-field single in his first-ever at bat.
“His skills dictate that he’s going to get an opportunity,” Thompson said. “We’re anxious to see how he performs and how he comes out here in a game setting.”
The early results for Roseburg showed a team that will compete and has the talent to win games.
“Our goal is to win the conference and go off for the playoffs and I think we’re very capable of that. We just got to keep improving everyday,” Wertz said.
The Indians will have plenty of tests prior to beginning their defense of last year’s Southwest Conference title. The five nonleague opponents on the schedule were all state playoff teams last year and South Salem and Jesuit are ranked first and fourth in the preseason OSAA coaches poll.
Up next, Roseburg will host the Ida B. Wells Guardians at 4 p.m. Thursday.
West Salem;000;001;0;—;1;1;3
Roseburg;200;010;X;—;3;4;0
Sotelo, Ballweber (6) and Williams; Wertz and Bowers. W — Wertz (1-0). L — Sotelo (0-1). 2B — Ruiz (R), McDonald (W.S.). 3B — Burke (R).
