Legion Baseball: Docs finish with much-needed win over Medford in Area 4 split
With the American Legion baseball regular season winding down, the Roseburg Dr. Stewart’s have a slim margin for error on their journey to reach the Oregon AAA Legion state tournament at the end of July.
Clinging to a slight edge for the final tournament berth out of Area 4, the Docs helped their own cause with an 8-7 win over the Medford Mustangs in Game 2 of a league doubleheader Wednesday night at Champion Car Wash Field.
“That was big,” Dr. Stewart’s coach Cody Walton said. “Obviously, that was definitely an emotional game. We took some water on the boat a little early and they responded. So, I was super proud to see that and not giving up and hung in there.”
Docs catcher Mason Young tagged out Mason Devry at home plate for the final out of the nightcap, giving Roseburg a comeback win after dropping the opener 7-2.
Medford (16-8, 3-4 Area 4) drew within a run on a bases-loaded infield single by Mason Snopl. The Mustangs tried to catch Roseburg (14-10, 3-6) distracted by the close play at first base and sent Devry to the plate, but the throw by first baseman Danner Wertz was delivered on target and on time and allowed Young to catch turn and tag out the runner to preserve the victory.
It was a dramatic win that gave the Docs more leverage in the race with Central Oregon for the last tournament berth. Walton said he hopes the team can carry the momentum forward.
“That (win) was huge. The energy in here was electric and guys are feeding off that. So, it’s really awesome for us to have that,” Walton said.
Central Oregon (12-11, 0-6) has six league games left to play, including four against Medford. Roseburg has just two Area 4 games remaining, both against Central Oregon on July 14 in Redmond.
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Medford jumped out to a 5-0 lead through three innings against Docs starter Wade Molatore. A couple of errors by Roseburg’s defense put more traffic on the bases than there should have been and the Mustangs capitalized. Molatore was relieved to start the fourth after giving up six hits with one walk, one strikeout and two hit batters.
The Docs started their comeback in the home half of the third with a run on a sacrifice fly by Paxton Burke. The Stewies tied the game with four runs in the fourth. An infield single by Quinn Gaylor started the scoring and Burke delivered a two-out double to left field that plated three runners and tied the game at 5-5.
The Mustangs retook the lead in the sixth on a two-out single by Sean McFall, who was 3-for-4 in the nightcap with two RBIs.
Roseburg quickly answered with three runs in the bottom of the sixth. Burke once again came through with a clutch hit, tying the game with a single to left field. Medford later chose to intentionally walk Christian Korba to load the bases with one out and Danner Wertz made the Mustangs pay with a two-run double to right-center field.
Medford trailed by a pair of runs heading to their final at bats. Docs reliever Teagan Sprague walked the leadoff man and Grady Sickler reached on an infield single. Brady Patterson put down a sacrifice bunt to get both runners in scoring position, but Sprague got the second out by striking out the hot-hitting Keegan Painter.
The Docs coaches chose to intentionally walk Cade Pettersen to load the bases and bring Snopl to the plate. Snopl drilled a grounder to the right side that was a tough play for second baseman Hayden Thompson, who fielded and threw to first just after Snopl reached the bag safely.
The infield single brought home Morgan Austin to get Medford within a run but Devry, who was running for Sickler, couldn’t avoid the tag at home by Young.
“Mason was absolutely tough as nails today. I know he was hurting. He was not 100% and he caught two games in the heat against a really tough team and I couldn’t be more proud of what he did and how he played today,” Walton said.
Burke was 2-for-3 in the game and led Roseburg with five RBIs. Wertz was 2-for-3 with two RBIs. Sprague and Gaylor also had two hits for the Docs.
In Game 1, the Docs jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the second inning thanks to a couple of errors by the Mustangs. Medford starter Freeman Rountree settled in from there and allowed just two hits over the final five innings as he tossed a complete game for the win. Rountree allowed five hits with two walks and four strikeouts.
Medford tied the game in the third on a pair of errors by the Docs and took the lead in the fourth on a passed ball. Painter led Medford with three RBIs on three singles.
Up next, the Docs will host the Hillsdale Merchants for a nonleague doubleheader at 5 p.m. Saturday at Champion Car Wash Field.
Tune in for coverage of Dr. Stewart’s baseball on The Score 92.3 FM/1490 AM or watch the live video simulcast on 1490 The Score’s YouTube channel.
First Game
Medford;002;202;1;—;7;11;2
Roseburg;020;000;0;—;2;5;3
Rountree and Douglas; Wertz, Coate (5) and Young. W — Rountree. L — Wertz (1-4). 2B — Patterson (M).
Second Game
Medford;311;001;1;—;7;11;0
Roseburg;001;403;X;—;8;9;2
Lewis, Daffron (6) and Patterson; Molatore, Sprague (4) and Young. W — Sprague (3-1). L — Daffron. 2B — Snopl (M), Douglas (M), Burke (R), Wertz (R), Sprague (R), Gaylor (R).
