American Legion Baseball: Docs secure postseason berth with an Area 4 split against Central Oregon
REDMOND — The Roseburg Dr. Stewart’s American Legion baseball team is postseason-bound after splitting its final Area 4 doubleheader with the Central Oregon Generals on Wednesday at the David M Jaqua Sports Complex.
After suffering a heartbreaking walk-off 10-9 loss in Game 1, the Docs rallied to smash their way to a 13-3 win in the nightcap.
“It was great to see no letdown. A must-have win for us,” Roseburg coach Tim Sustaire said.
The victory secures Roseburg one of the three postseason berths from Area 4, but the Docs are waiting to see the final results from the remaining league games this weekend before they’ll know their postseason fate.
“Three out of four, we’ll always take it,” Sustaire said about the four-game series with Central Oregon. “We wanted to get two (today), but good by our guys. Good to stay with it and come out with some offense in Game 2.”
A sweep by Dr. Stewart’s would have clinched a second place finish in Area 4 and an automatic berth in the AAA Oregon state tournament. The Docs can still finish second, but need Central Oregon to lose once to Medford during their four-game series this weekend. If the Stewies fall to third place they’ll have to win a play-in game to reach the state tournament.
“We all know that these games are the biggest of the year at this point,” Game 2 starter Camden Hartsell said. “We knew that we had to win one to be where we want to be next week in Portland.”
Hartsell did his part to help Roseburg (18-17, 9-7 Area 4) finish off the league season with a win. The Roseburg High School graduate allowed only three runs over five innings on six hits with three walks, three hit batters and six strikeouts.
“I tried to stay in the zone, limit everything when I could and get a win at the end of the day,” Hartsell said.
He got plenty of run support as the Docs piled up runs by scoring in each of the first four innings. Roseburg had five extra base hits and outhit the Generals 12-6 in the nightcap.
A leadoff triple by Paxton Burke set the table for an RBI groundout by Cal Robbins to give Roseburg a 1-0 lead. The advantage ballooned to 7-1 with six runs in the second inning. Daniel Withers, Burke and Logan Anderson all drove in runs for the Docs in the frame.
The Stewies added five runs in the third inning, highlighted by a three-run home run by Cal Robbins, his sixth of the season. An unearned run in the fourth helped keep the game at a 10-run lead for Roseburg and the Docs closed the series out with a 5-inning victory.
Roseburg tallied 25 hits between the two games as the offense brought plenty of fire power. Burke was 4-for-4 in Game 1 and was 2-for-3 in Game 2. Robbins had five hits and six RBIs between the two games. Dane St. Clair also had five hits and contributed three RBIs.
“Those things get contagious. Guys get going and run into some barrels and other guys find ways to keep it going. That’s a team effort today,” Sustaire said.
Central Oregon (18-11, 6-6) brought plenty of offense in Game 1, although it took awhile to warm up.
The Generals rallied after the Docs had built a 6-0 lead by the top of the third inning. Central Oregon scored five times in the third and tied the contest on a single by McCovey Williams.
Amos Bowers helped the Docs rebuild a 9-6 lead with a bases-loaded single that scored two runs, but the Generals rallied and only trailed by a run going to their final at bats.
Burke took over on the mound needing three outs to secure a win in the opener, but allowed a single and a walk to put the tying and go-ahead runners on base with no outs. A wild pitch put both runners in scoring position and a sacrifice fly by Gage Martinez tied the game.
Ethan Bruce grounded out to short for the second out of the inning and the Docs elected to intentionally walk Eli Pupo to help provide more options for a force-out. Williams came through with another clutch hit for the Generals, driving a ground ball right up the middle to plate Kaden Cooper for the walk-off victory.
“I was pretty ticked off with myself. I know I can do a lot better than that,” Burke said.
The Docs were fortunate not to let the Game 1 loss carry over into Game 2.
“We didn’t really let down after Game 1. Obviously losing by one when they’re coming back and walking us off, didn’t feel too good,” St. Clair said.
“The dugout was good. The guys hit really well. Good defense all around. (Game 2) was a total different game than Game 1. (We were a) total different team in Game 2,” Hartsell said.
With the postseason looming, the Docs have four nonleague games left on the schedule. They’ll host the Post 58 Crushers for a doubleheader at 5 p.m. Friday and then host the Hillsdale Merchants for a twin bill at 2 p.m. Sunday.
Sustaire said the games will be an opportunity for guys to prepare for what’s next.
“We got some guys that need a little bit of rest and we have some guys that need to be in the lineup and continue to get at-bats,” the coach said.
While the Docs finish out the regular season, they’ll also be closely monitoring the Area 4 scoreboard. Medford, Eugene, Grants Pass and Central Oregon will all play their final league games on Monday and spots could still be up for grabs all the way until the final out.
The single-elimination play-in round will be held either Tuesday or Wednesday and the state tournament begins July 26 at Joe Etzel Field on the campus of the University of Portland.
First Game
Roseburg 204 012 0 — 9 13 1
C. Oregon 005 102 2 — 10 13 4
Johnson, Coleman (6), Burke (7) and Robbins, Bowers; Key, Ruettgers (6) and Dean. W — Ruettgers. L — Burke (1-1).
Second Game
Roseburg 165 10 — 13 12 0
C. Oregon 102 00 — 3 6 3
Hartsell and Bowers; Martinez, C. Pupo (4) and Dean. W — Hartsell (2-3). L — Martinez. 2B — Burke (R), St. Clair (R), Hartlaub (CO), Martinez (CO). 3B — Burke (R), St. Clair (R), E. Pupo (CO.). HR — Robbins (R).
