Legion Baseball: Blowout loss to Hillsdale ends Docs season
MEDFORD — Just a day after pulling off an exciting victory to keep their season alive, the Roseburg Dr. Stewart’s laid a dud and were eliminated from the AAA American Legion baseball state tournament in a 17-3 loss against the Hillsdale Merchants Monday at Harry and David Field.
The loss brings the end of the summer season for the Docs, who went 1-2 at the state tournament and finished the season with a 20-14 overall record.
“Nobody wanted to end that way,” Docs coach Cody Walton said. “We had the expectations to win that game and at least play much better than we did, but I didn’t want that to overshadow or cloud what they have done this summer and how far they have come.”
Hillsdale (33-13) jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the first inning and knocked starting pitcher Fletcher Coleman out of the game before he could record three outs. Coleman struggled with his command, issuing three walks against the first four batters.
The Merchants scored in each of the first four innings to pile on the Docs. The game was cut short to just five innings due to the mercy rule.
Hillsdale finished with 14 hits total, including four extra base hits. Cam Hammer led the way with a triple and a double. The third baseman was 2-for-2 with four RBIs and two runs scored.
The Docs put up a little bit of a fight in the first inning. Danner Wertz and Hayden Thompson drove in runs and a wild pitch helped the Stewies tack on another run to get within 4-3. That’s as close as the Docs would get the rest of the way.
“We started really, really slow and that was really hard to come back from for our guys,” Walton said. “We showed a little bit of life with the bats, but then we continued to have walks and just not do a really good job on the mound and it just kind of snowballed after that, unfortunately. That kind of stung to see that.”
Thompson led the Docs with a pair of hits, including his first-inning, RBI double. Amos Bowers entered the game in the third inning and finished 2-for-2 at the plate.
Roseburg used four pitchers total, who combined to issue 10 walks to the Merchants. Add in four errors and Hillsdale’s powerful bats and it was a recipe for disaster.
Walton said the loss was a sour way to end what he believed was a summer of positive growth on the field for a group that was extremely young.
“Those guys put so much into it and so much effort and I watched a lot of growth, even in that short span of the summer,” Walton said. “We started with a gauntlet of a schedule and threw some guys into the fire and I think they had some eyes that were pretty big, some deer in the headlights early, and they settled in and did a really good job.”
The roster this summer was young and Walton is hopeful to return a majority of this year’s players. There are 12 players that will still be in high school this next school year and some of the recent graduates could possibly still meet the age requirements next summer.
“It’s extremely encouraging,” Walton said about the future of the program. “These guys that can come back, I think can be really impactful. Sometimes you get those numbers (of young guys) and it’s more bodies. For us, I feel like it’s a lot of talent and that’s a really, really exciting thing.”
Hillsdale advances to face the Medford Mustangs in an elimination game at 3 p.m. Tuesday. On the other side of the bracket, Tigard — the defending state champs — are undefeated after beating Medford 11-3 on Monday. Tigard will face Eugene at 7 p.m. Tuesday. It’s a must-win game for the Challengers.
Hillsdale 492 20 — 17 14 1
Roseburg 300 00 — 3 8 4
Bakke, Anzelotti (3), T. Kelly (5) and K. Kelly; Coleman, Shipman (1), Schwerdt (2), Sprague (3) and Young. W — Anzellotti. L — Coleman (1-1). 2B — Thompson (R), Hammer (H). 3B — Raiton (H), Kolmer (H), Hammer (H).
