Editor's note
This is the second in a four-part series of articles reviewing sports news that occurred in 2023. This second installment breaks down the period of April 1 to June 30
APRIL
April 1 — The girls track and field team won six individual events and two relays to easily win the Marist Invitational in Eugene. The boys, meanwhile, settled for fourth place with one of its top point scorers out of the lineup but did take first in four events.
April 1 — Philomath senior Micah Matthews placed second overall at the Summit Decathlon/Heptathlon meet at Summit High School. Matthews broke his own school record with the performance.
April 3 — Falling into a deep hole early, Philomath’s baseball team dropped an 8-3 decision to Madras in a game played on Crescent Valley’s field.
April 7 — Philomath’s baseball team may have had only six hits at Mazama but the Warriors made them count in an 11-3 victory.
April 7 — The softball team dropped to 1-7 on the season with a 15-0 loss at Pendleton.
April 8 — The softball team ran into one of Class 4A’s top teams at La Grande and lost 19-0 in a game shortened to three innings on the mercy rule.
April 8 — The baseball team completed a successful road trip with victories of 9-6 over Henley and 6-2 over Klamath Union.
2023 Year in Review — News: April to June
2023 Year in Review: A look at Philomath news stories from the period of April to June. This is the second in a four-part series of articles reviewing news in 2023.
2023 Year in Review — News: January to March
2023 Year in Review: A look at Philomath news stories from the period of January to March. This is the first in a four-part series of articles reviewing news in 2023.
2023 Year in Review — Sports: January to March
2023 Year in Review: A look at Philomath sports stories from the period of January to March. This is the first in a four-part series of articles reviewing sports in 2023.
April 8 — No. 1 singles player Dawson Beckstead defeats a Corvallis opponent in a tennis tournament at Oregon Episcopal.
April 8 — The Warrior girls easily won the Philomath Invitational with nearly twice as many team points as the runner-up.
April 8 — Philomath’s boys end the Philomath Invitational on high note with a victory in the 4-by-400 relay.
April 11 — The boys tennis team moved its record to 6-2-1 on the season with a 6-0 victory at North Marion.
April 11 — The girls tennis team won seven of eight matches in a victory over North Marion.
April 12 — The softball team opened Oregon West Conference play with a 12-2 loss on its home field to Cascade.
April 13 — Philomath High basketball players Cole Beardsley, Ty May, Abigail Brown and Emily Taunisila earned statewide recognition with the release of the Oregon Basketball Coaches Association all-state teams.
April 13 — Philomath’s Bailey Bell and Adele Beckstead see success on the tennis court and the Warriors defeat Cascade, 4-3.
April 13 — The baseball team opened Oregon West Conference play by sweeping a twinbill at Sweet Home, 9-8 and 22-11.
April 13 — The boys tennis team pulled out a 5-3 road win at Cascade behind a strong showing in the singles matches.
April 14 — The softball team stood toe-to-toe with No. 1-ranked Stayton in an Oregon West Conference road game with a deficit of just 2-0 going into the fifth inning. The Eagles survived the threat, however, and ended up with a 10-0 victory.
April 14 — The boys tennis team remained unbeaten in league play with a 6-2 victory over visiting Molalla.
April 14 — The girls tennis team rolled over Molalla in a Special District 2 girls tennis match, 7-1. The Warriors swept the doubles matches and won three of four in singles.
April 15 — A strong pitching performance along with a one-run single early, aggressive base running and a late sac fly helped Philomath to its fifth straight baseball victory.
April 15 — The softball team posted its first win in conference play with a 15-7 final over North Marion.
April 15 — The boys and girls track teams had several winners at the 20-school Rob Frank Invitational at Banks.
April 17 — Senior McKenzie Hauck hit the first two home runs of her high school softball career to help Philomath to a 21-17 victory over Newport.
April 19 — The softball team dropped below .500 in Oregon West Conference play with an 18-8 loss at Sweet Home.
April 19 — In an early battle for first place in the Oregon West Conference, Stayton held on to beat Philomath, 3-2, on the Eagles’ home field.
April 21 — The girls tennis went on the road for a 7-1 victory over Stayton with the Warriors sweeping the doubles matches and winning three of four in singles.
April 22 — The boys and girls track and field teams easily won the team titles at the Meet of Champions in Sweet Home. The Warriors won 10 events, including a sweep of the four relays.
April 24 — In a result rarely seen in high school tennis, the Philomath and Marist Catholic girls played to a 4-4 tie in a Special District 2 matchup.
April 24 — The boys tennis team played for the first time in 10 days and took one on the chin in an 8-0 loss to Marist Catholic.
April 24 — Cascade’s pitcher threw a three-hitter and errors plagued Philomath in a 7-1 baseball victory for the Cougars in the Oregon West Conference series opener between the two schools.
April 24 — Philomath softball team dropped a 10-0 game at Cascade to fall to 3-12 overall, 2-4 in the Oregon West Conference.
April 25 — The baseball team dropped its third straight conference game with a 12-1 loss to Stayton at Terry Stephenson Field.
April 26 — The softball team pushed first-place Stayton into the sixth inning before falling by a 10-6 margin.
April 26 — After dropping three straight league games, the baseball team put a stop to the bleeding in front of their home fans with a 14-4 victory over Cascade.
April 27 — The girls tennis team overwhelmed Estacada with an 8-0 victory on the road.
April 27 — In a boys tennis dual dominated by Philomath, seven of the eight matches against Estacada ended in quick fashion with straight-set victories.
April 27 — The softball team dropped a 17-7 decision to Newport in an Oregon West Conference game.
April 27 — Cascade High’s baseball team rallied from a four-run deficit in the fifth inning to upend Philomath, 10-7, in an Oregon West Conference baseball matchup.
April 28 — Dawson Beckstead won his final home match as the PHS boys tennis team defeated Stayton, 7-1.
April 29 — Six athletes and two relays had victories and 19 athletes and four relays had top-three finishes for Philomath High School’s track teams in the Junction City Invitational.
MAY
May 1 — Newport survived a late Philomath comeback for a 9-7 baseball victory.
May 1 — The softball team opened up a three-game home stand with a 19-2 loss to Sweet Home.
May 2 — The girls tennis team rolled to a pair of 8-0 victories in a Special District 2 double dual at Junction City. The Warriors defeated both the host school and Creswell.
May 2 — The girls track and field team won 13 of 17 events to easily outdistance the competition in a five-school meet at Cascade while the boys finished third.
May 3 — Philomath’s softball team rallies from eight runs down to beat the Huskies, 13-12, in the first game of a doubleheader and then erupts for nine runs in a single inning to win the nightcap on the 10-run rule.
May 3 — The baseball team evened its season series with rival Newport with a 12-8 victory on the coast.
May 4 — Eastern Oregon’s Austin Gerding, former PHS standout, hits a home run in his final plate appearance.
May 4 — Linfield sophomore Kaili Saathoff, a former Warriors softball standout, earned a spot on the Northwest Conference’s first team.
May 4 — The softball team dropped into a 6-0 hole in the first inning and couldn’t climb all the way out in an 11-2 loss to visiting Cascade.
May 4 — The baseball team rallied for four runs in the bottom of the seventh inning but fell short to visiting Newport, 12-11, in an Oregon West Conference matchup.
May 4 — The girls tennis team played a tuneup match before next week’s district tournament against McKay and came away with a 7-1 victory.
May 4 — The boys tennis team got in some work at Class 5A South Albany as part of its preparation for next week’s 4A/3A/2A/1A Special District 2 tournament. South Albany won the match, 5-3.
May 5 — Seniors Cole Beardsley and Ty May both made the first team on the Class 4A all-state boys basketball team released by SBLive Oregon and The Oregonian/OregonLive.
May 6 — The baseball team ran into a hot team and an effective pitcher at Terry Stephenson Field in a 6-2 loss to La Grande.
May 8 — The softball team couldn’t keep pace with Oregon West Conference unbeaten and No. 3-ranked Stayton in a softball matchup on the road, 16-0.
May 8 — In low-scoring pitchers’ duel, North Marion edged Philomath, 3-2, to strengthen its hold on first place in the Oregon West Conference baseball standings.
May 9 — The boys and girls track and field teams will compete in its final regular-season varsity meet before the Oregon West Conference Championships with an upcoming appearance in the Wally Ciochetti Invitational at Cottage Grove.
May 10 — Newport vaulted out to an 11-1 lead and then held off a determined Philomath squad in a 13-7 softball final on the Warriors’ home field.
May 11 — On the tennis court, junior Bailey Bell couldn’t do any better than she did during the regular season against district opponents. She won all of her matches, 6-0, 6-0, to accomplish a very rare feat.
May 11 — The pairing worked well for Philomath High this season. Junior Sawyer Ainsworth’s baseline hitting combined with senior Teddy Benbow’s abilities at the net racked up a lot of wins at No. 1 doubles.
May 11 — The softball team ended the season at Sweet Home with an 11-1 loss in five innings.
May 11 — Oregon West Conference champion and No. 4-ranked North Marion completed a series sweep over Philomath with victories of 13-1 and 7-3.
May 12 — The girls tennis program will send its top two singles players — Bailey Bell and Adele Beckstead — and top doubles team — Phoebe Dodson and Daniella Carlisle — to the state tournament next week.
May 12 — PHS senior Dawson Beckstead battled back from a first-round loss to take four straight and win the consolation championship at the Special District 2 tournament in Salem.
May 12 — In a late-season track and field meet that provides a glimpse into how the Warriors might shape up for districts and state, the Philomath High School girls put in a strong first-place performance and the boys were a close second at the Wally Ciochetti Invitational.
May 13 — With the game tied, senior Brayden Shenk sent a high pop fly toward third base in what appeared to be a routine play. But the ball popped out of the Stayton player’s glove, pinch runner Silas Pittman scored and the Warriors had an 8-7 victory.
May 14 — Philomath’s Junior Baseball Organization Senior American team won a major tournament in the Portland area. The local group of seventh and eighth graders defeated Banks, 6-4, to win the Clackamas/Nelson Mother’s Day Invitational.
May 14 — Philomath High’s equestrian team rides to first place at the state championships in Redmond.
May 19 — The baseball team’s season ended at Astoria with a 5-0 loss in a Class 4A play-in game. The Warriors finished with an overall record of 11-14.
May 20 — Philomath High’s girls track and field team simply dominated the Oregon West Conference Championships at Sweet Home. The Warriors scored points in all 17 events and will be sending several athletes to state after qualifying in 15 events.
May 20 — The boys track and field team qualified in 13 events for state with a series of exceptional performances at the Oregon West Conference Championships in Sweet Home and the Warriors won the top team trophy.
May 20 — Philomath’s Bailey Bell places third at the state tennis tournament, the Warriors tie for fourth as a team and Phoebe Dodson, Daniella Carlisle and Adele Beckstead contribute points.
May 20 — Paul Mariman, Phil Davis and Fern Robinson spend an evening back in Warrior spotlight through their induction along with 11 teams of the past into the Philomath High School Hall of Fame.
May 27 — Philomath’s boys came up just short in a fight for fourth place at the 4A state track and field meet. Micah Matthews and Ben Hernandez turned in second-place finishes on the track and the 4-by-400 relay ended the meet with a third-place performance.
May 27 — The Philomath High girls track and field team won the state title at Hayward Field in Eugene with a barrage of high finishes that separated the Warriors from the competition. Natalie Dunn and Janice Hellesto won individual events and Hellesto Janice was named the 4A girls’ Most Outstanding Athletes.
JUNE
June 2 — Philomath High’s baseball team placed six players on the all-conference team — Mason Stearns, Grant Niemann, Caleb Babcock, Brayden Shenk, David Griffith and Chad Russell. Stearns, shortstop, was on the first team.
June 2 — Three Philomath High softball players were named to the all-conference team — Kaylie Kohler, Mia Bennett and Janae Traglia.
June 7 — Philomath High graduate Kaili Saathoff has turned in an impressive sophomore season at Linfield University and she recently earned some nice awards for her accomplishments, including a top national academic honor and selection to the NCAA Division III All-America team.
June 22 — Fans of the Bends Elks are getting to know Blake Niemann this summer. That’s because the Philomath High graduate and Arizona State sports journalism student is calling games for the summer baseball club, which competes against the Corvallis Knights and several other teams in the West Coast League.
