Roseburg moves into second place in SWC baseball with 4-2 win over Willamette
EUGENE — The Roseburg baseball team grabbed an early four-run lead against Willamette and made it hold up for a 4-2 win in a Southwest Conference game Tuesday at Floyd Ogden Field.
Solid pitching, timely hitting and strong defense helped the Indians get the win and move into a tie with Willamette for second place in the SWC standings. RHS holds the head-to-head tiebreaker with the Wolverines.
“We felt good about a lot of aspects in our baseball game today. The kids had a lot of energy after a doubleheader yesterday, so it’s good to see us come out with that,” Roseburg coach Troy Thompson said.
Kaden Austin got Roseburg (14-10, 10-6 SWC) on the board with a two-out single in the second inning. The junior’s base hit scored the first run and a fielding error in right field allowed a second run to cross home.
Brevin Harrison plated two more runs in the third inning with a bases-loaded single. The ball wasn’t hard hit, but a nasty hop off the natural grass infield got the ball past third baseman Jackson Doughty and into foul territory down the left field line.
The 4-0 lead was enough for Roseburg starter Camden Hartsell. The senior kept Willamette (14-8, 10-6) scoreless through the first five innings.
Hartsell improved his pitching record to 2-3 on the year, allowing two runs on five hits over six innings. He finished with five walks and four strikeouts.
“I was feeling really good. I was hitting the zone pretty well. I felt like I was doing what I could to keep the guys behind me working,” Hartsell said.
The Wolverines scored twice in the sixth inning off of Hartsell, but not without some controversy.
Willamette attempted a squeeze bunt with the bases loaded and no outs. Brayden Rather missed on his bunt attempt, while courtesy runner Brodie Garrett came rushing down the third base line.
Roseburg catcher Paxton Burke collected the pitch and looked to tag out Garrett, but some contact on the play jarred the ball loose. After numerous conversations between the umpires and Thompson, the runner was deemed safe at home.
Willamette cut the deficit to 4-2 one batter later on a single by Collin Robbins.
Hartsell settled back in and left the game-tying runner stranded at second. Dane St. Clair relieved Hartsell in the seventh inning and struck out three of four batters to close out the game.
“It was really nice to see him go out there and pound the zone just right off the bat,” Hartsell said about handing the ball to St. Clair for Roseburg’s first save of the season. “It was a pretty tight ball game after the sixth, so it was nice to see him go out there and shove it and do what he can do best. I got a lot of trust in him.”
The Roseburg defense also made a number of highlight-reel plays behind Hartsell to shut down Willamette. Jake Johnson and Brooks Avery both had diving plays on the left side of the infield to make put-outs at first.
“We want our pitchers to put the ball in play. I was just trying to help the team out the best way I can,” Avery said.
Burke and St. Clair both had two hits for Roseburg.
Robbins and Jacey Roberts both had a pair of hits for Willamette.
Roseburg wraps up its Southwest Conference schedule on Saturday with a doubleheader at North Medford. A win for the Indians would clinch an automatic berth in the Class 6A state playoffs, which begin May 20.
Roseburg 022 000 0 — 4 8 1
Willamette 000 002 0 — 2 6 2
Hartsell, St. Clair (7) and Burke; Cox, Christian (4), Doughty (7) and Roberts. W — Hartsell (2-3). L — Cox. Sv — St. Clair (1).
JV Score — Roseburg 7, Willamette 6.
