The Philomath High School baseball team stumbled in a nonconference game at Gladstone Friday with a 7-4 loss.
The Warriors (6-2-1) fell into a 3-0 hole in the second inning but scored single runs in the third, fourth and sixth to knot the score. But in the bottom half of the sixth, the Gladiators put up four runs to regain the advantage. The Warriors got a run back in the seventh.
In the third, sophomore Jacob Hernandez started the inning with a walk and later scored on a ground ball to second by senior Grant Niemann. In the fourth, senior Brady Russell singled and later scored on a sacrifice by senior Joe Barnes. And in the sixth, the Warriors tied it when junior Rocco De La Rosa walked and later came around to score on a ground ball to second by sophomore AJ Altishin.
Philomath tried to put a rally together in the seventh after falling behind by four runs. Junior Wylie Griffith was hit by a pitch, Hernandez singled and junior Caleb Babcock walked to load the bases with no outs. The Warriors got one run in but the game ended with a fly out to center and two strikeouts.
Philomath was limited to five hits in the contest, including a Niemann double. Griffith went the distance at pitcher and in six innings, allowed nine hits, five earned runs and no walks with five strikeouts.
Gladstone (2-7) scattered nine hits, which included a 2-for-3 effort by senior Loghan Peterson.
The Warriors are scheduled to open Oregon West Conference play on Monday with a trip to Sweet Home.
