In need of some positive momentum, Roseburg’s Dane St. Clair came through with a clutch two-out single in the bottom of the ninth inning to give the Indians a split with Southwest Conference champion North Medford in a doubleheader on Saturday at Bill Gray Legion Stadium at Champion Car Wash Field.
On the 10th pitch of his at bat, St. Clair — a sophomore — hit a 2-2 pitch to center field to drive in Brooks Avery for a 6-5 nine-inning victory in the second game.
It was the first hit of St. Clair’s varsity experience.
“That was very special,” St. Clair said of the game-winning hit.
The walk-off victory ended a closely contested day between Roseburg (17-9, 10-8 SWC) and North Medford (19-5, 15-3). The Black Tornado scored late to pull off a 2-1 comeback win in the opener.
“We felt like we kind of let one get away in Game 1,” Roseburg coach Troy Thompson said. “But you’ll take a split when you get beat in Game 1.”
St. Clair’s hit snapped a five-game losing skid for Roseburg and ended North Medford’s four-game winning streak.
“That was huge. We needed to split at least,” St. Clair said. “We’re excited for playoffs now. We’ve got to get our mindset right and get ready for it.”
It’s been a tough stretch but the Roseburg baseball team turned the tide with a 6-5 walk-off win over North Medford in the regular season finale. Soph. Dane St. Clair got his first varsity hit with the game-winner. #UmpquaPreps #opreps pic.twitter.com/SdEJRXgAKd
— Joey Keeran (@joeykeeran) May 14, 2023
Roseburg jumped out to a lead in the first inning of both games.
Eli Jacobs scored on a sacrifice bunt by Noah Fisk in the first inning of the opener. The Indians only managed two more hits the rest of the game, but had opportunities to score, leaving two men stranded in scoring position.
North Medford scored an unearned run in the fourth inning off of Roseburg starter Austin Takahashi and took the lead in the top of the seventh.
Jeremiah Robbins led off with a ground-rule double and later scored on a sacrifice bunt by Kellen Willer.
Takahashi took the loss despite allowing just two hits over seven innings.
“Austin was very good, unfortunately we didn’t get it done at the plate,” Thompson said. “Very proud of our arms today.”
In the nightcap, Roseburg built a 5-0 lead against North starter Frankie Rutigliano, who didn’t make it out of the first inning.
Parker Burke drove in two runs with a single and James Coleman plated two more on a double to right-center field for the Tribe.
North cut into the deficit with two runs in the third against Brevin Harrison and tied the game in the fourth with some strategic small ball.
Jordan White took over on the mound for Roseburg in the fifth and pitched five innings of shutout baseball, allowing four hits and striking out three.
White’s performance on the mound kept Roseburg in the game until St. Clair’s single ended things.
Roseburg notched 10 hits in the second game, led by White who had three singles. Fisk and Coleman each had two hits.
Johnny King led North Medford in the nightcap, going 3-for-5.
Roseburg is now done with the regular season and will wait for the Class 6A playoff brackets to be revealed late Thursday night. The Indians will then play in a first-round game on Monday, May 22.
“We’ll come out next week and have a full week of practice. We’ll put ourselves in some live situations with our arms and some scrimmages,” Thompson said about the week off.
“It’s certainly an exciting time of year when you get through the regular season and earn the opportunity to play in the playoffs.”
First Game
N. Medford;000;100;1;—;2;2;0
Roseburg;100;000;0;—;1;4;2
Daffron, Newmann (7) and Robbins; Takahashi and Burke. W — Daffron (7-0). L — Takahashi (2-4). S — Newmann. 2B — Robbins (NM).
Second Game
N. Medford;002;300;000;—;5;8;1
Roseburg;500;000;001;—;6;10;2
Rutigliano, Carr (1), King (4), Horsley (8) and Robbins; Harrison, White (5) and Burke. W — White (2-0). L — Horsley. 2B — Willer (NM), Curtis 2 (NM), Coleman (R).
