The Philomath High School baseball team opened Oregon West Conference play with a bang Monday with a 25-1 rout at Sweet Home.
The Warriors (7-2 overall, 1-0 Oregon West) and Huskies (5-7, 0-1) will continue the three-game series Wednesday at Terry Stephenson Field before returning to Sweet Home for the finale on Thursday.
Junior Caleb Babcock dominated on the mound and at the plate. In five innings at pitcher, Babcock allowed three hits and two walks with 12 strikeouts. The run that Sweet Home scored was unearned. Offensively, Babcock went 3 for 3 with four runs and five RBIs.
Six other PHS batters had two hits apiece as part of a 16-hit barrage by the Warriors. Senior Kayson Olsen led off the third inning with a home run to spark a 10-run frame. Philomath had another double-digit inning in the fifth when the Warriors put up 11.
In addition to Olsen, who also had four runs and three RBIs, the team’s other two-hit batters were freshman Jacob Hernandez, junior Rocco De La Rosa, sophomore AJ Altishin, senior Colton Hruska and junior Wylie Griffith. De La Rosa drove in four runs. Besides Olsen, senior Brady Russell also collected three RBIs.
Wednesday’s game at Philomath is scheduled for a 5 p.m. start.
