Josh Graham strikes out Joey Losk to advance to the semifinals

A pitching duel broke out in the quarterfinal match-up between Roseburg and Beaverton on Friday. Roseburg senior Josh Graham battled with Beaverton’s Mitch Allen in a 2-0 win that sent the Indians to the semifinal for a second straight year.

The pitchers combined for a scoreless game through four innings and totaled 11 strikeouts during that span. Both pitchers kept hitters off balance and a dribbler down the third base line off Allen was the game’s only hit through four.

Roseburg broke the scoreless tie in the top of the fifth. Boog Leach notched the game’s second hit with a ground-rule double to right centerfield. Cody Walker came on to run for Leach and moved to third on a balk by Allen. Kody Matthews plated the first run for Roseburg on a sacrifice fly to centerfield.

A similar situation led to Roseburg’s second score in the seventh inning. Leach led off the inning with his second straight double. He advanced to third on a wild pitch. Connor Newell brought Leach home with a single through the gap on the right side of the infield.

Beaverton managed just one base runner against Graham. Brandon Cornwell beat out the throw from Newell for an infield single. He was stranded at second after advancing on a sacrifice bunt.

Graham finished with eight strikeouts and allowed just one hit. Allen received the loss, but allowed just four hits and struck out 11.

The Indians will now play on Tuesday in the semifinals, but they are still waiting to find out their opponent. The winner of Jesuit and Oregon City will come to Legion Field. The quarterfinal match-up between the school’s was postponed Friday due to lightening. The game was tied 4-4 after seven innings at the time it was delayed.

Roseburg – 000 010 1   2 4 0

Beaverton – 000 000 0  0 1 1

WP – Josh Graham (10-1) 7.0IP, 1H, 0BB, 8K

LP – Mitch Allen 7.0IP, 4H, 2ER, 4BB, 11K

The Indians wait to take infield before game one against Grants Pass

It was a fitting end to the regular season for the Roseburg Indians. Josh Graham and Jared Priestley each pitched shutout wins over Grants Pass to officially give the Indians their fourth straight conference title.

Josh Graham warms up for his start in game one

In game one, Graham allowed just four hits and struck out 12 hitters in a 9-0 win. Roseburg scored three runs in the second inning started by an RBI triple from Kody Matthews. Connor Kahle plated Matthews on a single through the middle.

The Indians added five runs in the fourth inning when Grants Pass starter Cameron Matthews struggled with his command and walked three hitters and gave up four hits. Roseburg sent 10 hitters to the plate during the inning and put away the game.

Graham improved his record to 8-1 on the season and lowered his stellar ERA to 0.81 and increased his strikeout total to 95. The senior is averaging nearly two strikeouts an inning and has only given up 10 walks all year.

Jared Priestley tosses prior to game one against Grants Pass

Priestley was equally as impressive in his start. The righty gave up only five hits and struck out nine in his outing. Priestley lowered his ERA to a miniscule 0.50 and improved to 7-0 this year. Roseburg scored runs in the third, fourth, fifth, and sixth innings to sweep Grants Pass 7-0.

Mike Morin led the Indians offensively, going 2-for-2 with two walks and two RBI. The Indians improved to 21-2 overall and finished the conference season 11-1. Grants Pass finished the league season in last place with a 2-10 record.

Roseburg now waits for the OSAA to fill out the 32-team bracket to find out their first round opponent in the playoffs. The Indians were in first in the OSAA power rankings headed into the weekend and will likely stay at the top. Roseburg, Crater, and North Medford are the automatic qualifiers for the Southern Oregon Conference. South Medford and Grants Pass will take part in play-in games by May 17.

The Indians will play their first round game at home on May 21 against an opponent to be named after the play-in games on May 17.

Game 1

Grants Pass        000 000 0  0 4 1

Roseburg            039 510 x  9 8 0

WP – Josh Graham (8-1)

LP – Cameron Matthews

Game 2

Grants Pass        000 000 0  0 5 1

Roseburg            002 131 x  7 9 0

WP – Jared Priestley (7-0)

LP – Chris Ingledue

POSTGAME PODCAST:

After the game I spoke with five of the eight seniors on the Indians squad this year (two had to leave to get ready in time for Prom night festivities). Josh Graham, Boog Leach, Tanner Townsend, Connor Newell, and Jared Priestley share their thoughts on their final league game, who’s got the best tux for prom, and reminisce on their time at Roseburg High School.

STATS (Thru May 13)

Batting Statistics

Pitching Statistics