Legion Baseball: Docs look to finish hot July with deep run at Legion state tournament
After an 0-5 start to the summer American Legion baseball season, things weren’t looking too sunny for the Roseburg Dr. Stewart’s.
Things quickly started turning for the Docs as the group of Douglas County standouts began getting familiar with each other and the team hasn’t lost back-to-back games since the sluggish start.
Roseburg (19-12) went 12-5 in the month of July and picked up a number of wins against teams they’ll see competing in the upcoming Oregon AAA Legion baseball state tournament in Medford. Shortstop Paxton Burke, a leader for the group, said it was the team chemistry that helped turn things around for the Stewies.
Burke shared that it took a little bit for the team to learn how to play with each other.
“It was a very, very slow start for us, to come along and be able to play together,” Burke said. “Now we’re starting to get the hang of things. If we continue to stay like that, continue to stay hot, then I think we’ll be good.”
The Docs have had plenty of time to prepare for the state tournament. The team had no games scheduled the week leading up to the tourney, so players got a chance to rest up a bit and sharpen their skills before things ramp up.
“We’ve been practicing the last couple of days. We’re feeling good, guys are swinging it well. We’re just getting prepared and getting ready,” Docs veteran Logan Anderson said.
Roseburg will face Corvallis in the first round of the double-elimination state tournament at 1 p.m. Saturday at Harry & David Field in Medford. It will be the second time the Docs have faced the Marketmen this season. The previous meeting was a 9-7 decision in favor of Corvallis on June 19 during the Docs Father’s Day Tournament.
Corvallis is just one of five teams in the field of eight that the Docs have already faced this season. The Medford Mustangs, Eugene Challengers, Hillsboro Wet Sox and Portland Hillsdale Merchants are all tournament qualifiers the Docs saw during the regular season.
Roseburg went 6-9 overall against the state tournament field. A majority of those losses came early in the season as the team was gelling, but the familiarity with the opponents could prove helpful for the Docs.
“We know what’s coming,” Teagan Sprague said. “We’ve played these teams before. We’ve experienced them. So we’re feeling confident.”
“I think we’re feeling pretty good,” Christian Korba said. “We’ve got a couple of our guys back (from injury) and we know which teams we have to beat. So, I think we’ve got a good chance.”
The Docs are hitting .303 for the season, but had a .342 average in the month of June. The team also saw its pitching improve, going from a 4.30 earned run average in June to 2.96 in July. Roseburg will try to keep the hot stretch going as it seeks the 12th state title in program history and first since 2010.
Other first round matchups on Saturday include Eugene versus the Portland Hillsdale Merchants at 10 a.m., the Salem Dodgers against Tigard Barbers at 4 p.m. and the Hillsboro Wet Sox face the Medford Mustangs at 7 p.m.
The winner of the Oregon state tournament advances to the Northwest Regional hosted by the Medford Mustangs August 5-9 at Harry & David Field in Medford.
