By Jeremy McDonald
Jeremymcdonald73@gmail.com
KEIZER, Ore.– It wasn’t the best of days for the Sprague baseball team against Roseburg at Roto-Rooter Park in Keizer, but they were resilient against a tough Roseburg squad on Tuesday.
The two teams battled the elements with the wind and rain and seeing each other go toe-to-toe with one another.
Roseburg held the 2-0 lead after one. The Olympians tied it at two going into the third, Roseburg pulled ahead for a 4-2 lead going into the bottom half of the third inning. Sprague rallied the bats once more to take a 5-4 lead going into the fourth inning.
Jaxson Redel, who got the start, battled through the elements. It wasn’t the best of performances for him or his defense, but they battled through to keep up with Roseburg on this day.
“My pitching performance wasn’t how I wanted it to go, but I know I have a good defense behind me. Of course we have to work on a few things, but just leading the charge on the mound helps fire the guys up and we get the bats rolling,” Redel said.
Redel went five innings, striking out six while going 4-for-4 with 2RBI’s on the plate to lead the offensive charge as well.
Roseburg began to pull away in the fifth inning, during Redel’s last inning of work. A three-run fifth inning put Roseburg back ahead and they sustained that momentum on both sides of the ball to close out what became a 10-7 victory in favor of the visitor.
With two non-league games ahead of them before opening Central Valley Conference play next week against West Salem, Tuesday’s game will serve as a good stepping stone towards polishing up those little things.
“Defense, we need to work on a lot. We have a lot of errors that give up a few runs, and I’m pretty sure in practice we’ll make up for it,” said Redel.
Photos By Jeremy McDonald
