After Crook County had rallied from a three-run deficit in the sixth to tie the score in Monday’s nonconference baseball game at Terry Stephenson Field, Philomath started the bottom half of the inning with a pair of infield ground-outs.
The Warriors needed something good to happen at the plate.
Gallery: PHS baseball vs. Crook County (April 1, 2024)
A collection of photos from Philomath High’s 6-5 baseball win over Crook County on Monday.
Junior shortstop Kayson Olsen stepped into the box and ripped a double to left field and sophomore center fielder Caleb Babcock followed with a triple to right-center to give Philomath the lead back at 6-5.
The lead held up in the seventh and the Warriors improved to 2-4 as they try to turn around their fortunes in this early season.
“Getting a win against a good team and just scratching one out in a close game can definitely turn the momentum in our way and just start getting us rolling for the rest of the season,” Olsen said.
The clutch hit in the sixth by Olsen opened the door.
“I was just looking to put something in play,” he said. “We already had two outs and I was just trying to keep it alive and get that last run to put us ahead.”
The performance backed up a solid pitching performance by Warriors senior Mason Stearns, who allowed just four hits and two walks with seven strikeouts over five innings. Four of the five runs scored against him were unearned.
“Mason did a really good job today,” Webber said. “I think he got a little tired there in the sixth but I mean, these guys are good — they’ve got 11 or 12 seniors, so you know they have experience and some ability. But he started wearing down a little bit there towards the end and the middle of their lineup got to him.”
Junior Logan Matthews closed out the game in the seventh to earn a save. Following a ground-ball out to the shortstop and a line drive out to second base, the Cowboys stayed alive on senior Austin Vaughan’s single to shallow center field. But the game ended with junior catcher Grant Niemann throwing out Vaughan at second as sophomore Wylie Griffith put down the tag.
“Logan came in and pounded the zone and that’s what it’s all about for us — just making sure we throw strikes and allowing everything to happen behind them,” Webber said.
Olsen has seen action at both shortstop and second base this season and his defensive skills were on full display in Monday’s win. Webber said his abilities at the plate have been important to the lineup.
“The thing that really has kept him in the lineup just as much as his defense is offensively,” Webber said. “He’s gets everything going and has just had some really good at-bats for us this year. He’s moved his way up in the lineup.”
Olsen hit third in the lineup against the Cowboys.
“I think as his confidence grows offensively, the more confidence he’ll have defensively because he’s shown us some impressive things in practice and today, it was cool to see it come to fruition,” Webber said.
The game was tied 2-2 through two innings. In the first, Crook County picked up a run on the front end of a double steal and added another on a Philomath infield error. In the bottom half, Niemann led off by taking one for the team and came around to score on a passed ball.
The Warriors tied it in the second by pushing across another run. Sophomore Rocco De La Rosa walked and later scored on a wild pitch with two outs.
Philomath’s biggest offensive inning came in the fifth when the Warriors were able to take advantage of a Crook County miscue. Stearns opened the inning with a walk and after back-to-back strikeouts, freshman AJ Altishin singled to center field. De La Rosa came up to the plate and took a swing at a third strike that could’ve ended the inning. But Crook County’s catch wasn’t able to squeeze the ball and it skipped away toward the backstop in a spot that he couldn’t immediately see.
Stearns scored, Altishin moved to third and De La Rosa ended up on second after reaching on a dropped third strike. Junior Brady Russell followed with a single that skipped past the left field. Two more runs scored and Philomath had a 5-2 lead.
“It felt good to get a couple of breaks going our way,” Webber said. “I wouldn’t say we’ve been playing our best baseball through the first five games coming into today but it’s definitely been one of those things where it feels like whatever can go wrong has gone wrong for us.”
In the end, those three runs proved to be a key moment in a close game, especially with Crook County’s three-run response in the top of the sixth.
“Today we had our opportunities and they gave us some extra chances and we took advantage of it,” Webber said. “That’s what good teams do.”
Babcock went 2 for 4 and Russell collected two RBIs for Philomath. Vaughan had three of the five hits for Crook County (5-2).
Philomath will play again Tuesday with a road trip to Madras, another Tri-Valley Conference team that’s off to a good start this season at 6-2 and averaging 10 runs per game.
