The Philomath High School baseball team appears to be hitting a productive stride at just the right time.
Sophomore Jayce Iverson had a pretty good 24 hours in a Warriors uniform. On Wednesday, he pitched a complete-game six-hitter with six strikeouts and hit a one-run double to give Philomath the lead in what ended up as a 9-4 victory over the Cubs. Then on Thursday, he drove in a run on a sac fly and ended the game on the 10-run rule with a two-run single in a 12-2 victory at Terry Stephenson Field.
Gallery: PHS baseball vs. Newport (Thursday, May 14, 2026)
A collection of photos from Philomath High’s 12-2 baseball win at home over Newport on Thursday.
“It’s just making everything simple,” Iverson said. “Don’t try to do anything too big — just put the ball in play and good things will happen.”
The game has slowed down for him.
“I’m catching up to it — it’s becoming a little easier,” Iverson said. “I’ve had a rough couple of innings in the field but I really battled through those.”
Iverson is hitting .370 at the plate, trailing only Caleb Babcock (.444), AJ Altishin (.405) and Rustan Woosley (.386) on the team in batting average. He’s been especially tough for opposing teams to get out with two strikes against him.
“It seems every time he gets to two strikes, he finds a way to get a knock,” coach Levi Webber said. “I bet his batting average with two strikes is pretty high because he does such a good job of just staying short when he gets those opportunities and not trying to do too much.”
The Warriors (12-11) have now won four straight and are above .500 for their overall record for the first time since April 3.
“We started off a little rocky but we’re really coming together and working,” Iverson said. “We’re right where we need to be for the playoffs.”
Stayton (9-3), Philomath (8-4) and Cascade (7-5) are fighting for the top two spots in the conference standings, which come with automatic berths into the Class 4A playoffs. The four highest-ranked third-place teams will fill out the bracket, and that does not bode well for the Cougars, which are currently No. 24. The Eagles are ranked No. 6 and the Warriors are at No. 10.
“It really sets us up to go into our last series and gets us ready for the playoffs,” Iverson said about the sweep over Newport. “We’re ready … we’re in a good spot.”
It appears unlikely that the Warriors could finish in first place. Philomath would need to sweep North Marion, the conference’s last-place team, which is entirely possible and perhaps even probable. But Stayton would also need to lose two of three against Sweet Home. The Eagles took the season series over the Warriors in three very close games and have a higher overall ranking.
“I don’t know if the league title is a viable thing but as long as we get second, the auto berth is there and so that’s what we’re fighting for,” Webber said. “Once we get in, we know we’ve got one of the best in the state on the bump so we’ve got a chance in that first round, and if we keep playing the way we’ve been playing, we can compete with anybody.”
Webber said the pitching rotation has been throwing very well over the last two series, with Wylie Griffith, Babcock and Iverson all throwing strikes and competing in the zone. Combined with an increased presence at the plate and improved play on defense, the Warriors have settled into a winning groove.
“It’s probably the best we’ve played the three phases of the game — pitching, defense and offense — so far this year,” Webber said about the recent win streak. “Now, we’ve got to make sure we take care of business next week and do the same thing and keep competing.”
Of the three phases, Philomath’s biggest jump has come on the field with fewer errors — a particular part of the game that really hurt in those close losses to Stayton.
“The last four games, we’ve played pretty solid defensively and that’s allowed us to not give up extra base runners, extra runs and just make them earn it,” Webber said. “I think that’s kind of the big thing.”
The improvements seen in the batter’s box have also produced nice results for the team.
“Our bats this week and last week — even in the game we lost against Cascade — have been really good, really competitive,” Webber said. “We’re doing a great job of getting good pitches to hit, being on time, putting balls in play, battling with two strikes, executing when we have situational opportunities.”
In Thursday’s win, Newport scored an early run but the Warriors took the lead in the second inning on back-to-back one-run singles by sophomore Sammy Hernandez and Griffith. Philomath created separation in the third with five more runs, an inning that started with Babcock’s solo shot to right-center.
Later in the third, Woosley laid a bunt down the third-base line, and on the play Newport’s pitcher made a throw that got past first base to help junior CK Kvidt score. Junior Jacob Hernandez then connected on a single and the ball skipped past the right fielder to allow Woosley to reach home. Iverson followed by driving in the team’s sixth run on a sacrifice fly and Griffith later hit a two-out, one-run single to make it 7-1.
Philomath pushed two more runs across in the fifth on a one-run single by Sammy Hernandez and a sac fly by Griffith. In the sixth, Babcock led off with a double, moved to third on a Kvidt single and scored when Newport’s pitcher made an errant throw on a pickoff attempt at first. Iverson then ended the game on the run rule with a two-run single to center.
Philomath had a dozen hits in the victory, with Sammy Hernandez, Griffith, Babcock, Kvidt and Woosley each coming up with two apiece. Griffith and Iverson both drove in three runs.
Griffith was in command throughout with a complete-game performance that included just 79 pitches thrown. In his six innings of work, he allowed four hits, two runs and one walk with five strikeouts.
Junior Collin Fierro led the Cubs (8-14, 4-8) offensively with a 2-for-3 performance at the plate, including a triple. Senior Aiden Brown, sophomore Hunter Hoefs and senior Jordan Ingalls all took turns on the mound and combined to allow 12 hits and four walks with six strikeouts.
Philomath 12, Newport 2 (6)
Thursday, May 14, at Terry Stephenson Field, Philomath HS
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 R H E Newport (8-14, 4-8) 1 0 0 1 0 0 2 4 5 Philomath (12-11, 8-4) 0 2 5 0 2 3 12 12 2
Griffith and Herbert; Brown, Hoefs (3), Ingalls (6) and Humphrys. W — Griffith. L — Brown. 2B — Wagner (N), Babcock (P). 3B — Fierro (N). HR — Babcock (P).
Junior varsity: Philomath 6, Newport 4.
