Philomath High School senior Mason Stearns earned Co-Player of the Year honors and six other players also earned recognition on the all-Oregon West Conference baseball team released this week.
Stearns led the team in key statistical categories both at the plate and on the mound. Typically at shortstop when not pitching, Stearns had a .419 batting average and 35 RBIs. At pitcher, he compiled a 6-1 record and had 42 strikeouts against 17 walks in 50 innings of work. Among hurlers with 10 or more innings pitched, Stearns had a team-best 1.40 earned run average. On the base paths, Stearns swiped a team-high 21 bases.
North Marion pitcher Dawson Schrenk shared Co-Player of the Year honors with Stearns. Schrenk was also named the conference’s Pitcher of the Year.
Philomath’s Levi Webber earned the Coach of the Year honor. After going 11-14 the previous season, Webber led this year’s Warriors to an 18-8 regular-season record, second-place finish in the Oregon West Conference and a berth in the Class 4A state playoffs.
Stearns and sophomore Caleb Babcock both earned spots on the Oregon West’s first team. Babcock, who plays center field and is in the pitching rotation, finished the regular season with a .329 batting average and 17 RBIs.
Junior Brady Russell, sophomore Rocco De La Rosa and junior Kayson Olsen were among those on the all-conference second team. Russell, first baseman, finished the regular season with a .292 batting average and drove in 16 runs. De La Rosa, third baseman, had a .298 batting average. Olsen, second baseman and shortstop, hit .312, drove in 16 runs and had a team-high seven doubles.
Junior Logan Matthews and junior Grant Niemann earned recognition on the honorable mention list. Matthews was listed at pitcher on the all-league team. He threw 33-1/3 innings with four starts and eight relief appearances, finishing with a 4-0 record with two saves and a 1.68 ERA. Niemann, catcher, drove in 17 runs offensively and was tough behind the plate with a .983 fielding percentage while throwing out a dozen base runners.
Philomath is scheduled to play at 6:30 p.m Wednesday in the first round of the 4A playoffs at The Dalles. The game had been scheduled for Tuesday but was pushed back because of wet weather. If the 10th-seeded Warriors win, they would play Friday either at second-seeded North Marion or at home against 15th-seeded Gladstone.
State tennis begins Thursday
Philomath High School qualified three singles players for the 4A/3A/2A/1A state tennis tournament that begins Thursday and runs through Saturday at the Oregon State University Tennis Complex.
Senior Andrew Leonard (18-3 record) will be the first to see action with a first-round match scheduled for Thursday afternoon against Catlin Gabel sophomore Aston Selley. The winner will advance to the second round to face Weston-McEwen junior Trysten Burns, who earned a first-round bye.
The top four seeds for boys singles are Marist Catholic sophomore EJ Roedl, Catlin Gabel freshman Zarah Gonzalvo, St. Mary’s junior Reid Ravassipour and Ontario junior Jack Hally.
For the girls, senior Bailey Bell and junior Adele Beckstead both earned first-round byes and won’t play until Friday morning.
Bell (18-2) will play Crook County junior Samatha Ramos in the second round. If Bell wins, she would head to the quarterfinals to possibly face Valley Catholic junior Ryan Lomber, the No. 4 seed, unless an upset occurs. Stayton junior Laina Atiyeh and Oregon Episcopal sophomore Ella Li will play Thursday with the winner to go up against Lomber.
Beckstead (19-1) will play Friday morning against Sisters senior Juhree Kizziar. If seedings hold true, North Bend sophomore Raegan Farm, the No. 2 seed, would await the Kizziar-Beckstead winner in the quarterfinals.
Klamath Union senior Patricia Dougherty earned the No. 1 seed for the girls with Farm at No. 2, Marist Catholic freshman Whitney Hedden at No. 3 and Lomber at No. 4.
Fulton, Fuqua win OACA awards
Philomath High School cross-country and track and field coach Joe Fulton and Philomath News publisher/editor Brad Fuqua were among those receiving awards on Saturday night at Autzen Stadium in Eugene during the 38th annual Oregon Athletic Coaches Association banquet.
Fulton won awards as the 2023-24 Coach of the Year for both girls cross-country and girls track and field. Fulton coached both of those teams to Class 4A state championships. Fulton also earned recognition as the recipient of an Oregon State Coach of the Year award for boys cross-country through NFHS (National Federation State High School Associations).
Fuqua, who covers Philomath High School athletics, was among those who received the OACA Media Award. Philomath News is an online publication founded in 2020.