The Philomath High School baseball team extended its winning streak to four games Saturday with a doubleheader sweep at La Grande, 6-4 and 7-3.
The Warriors (5-4) will now get into Oregon West Conference play beginning Monday with a three-game series against Sweet Home. The Huskies also enter league play on a high after defeating Cottage Grove and Molalla last week. Games on Monday and Thursday will be played at Terry Stephenson Field with the Wednesday game at Sweet Home.
In the twinbill sweep at La Grande, a school located 350 miles away on the eastern edge of the state, the Warriors continued the positive vibe that had been established with victories of 6-5 over Crook County on April 1 and 13-0 at Madras on April 2.
In the first game, the two teams were tied 4-4 going into the sixth inning but the Warriors pulled it out with a little help from the Tigers. La Grande committed three errors in the sixth — all with two outs — that helped PHS move around the bases. Freshman AJ Altishin picked up the game-winning RBI with a single to third base that got senior Mason Stearns home. Junior Kayson Olsen then scored when sophomore Rocco De La Rosa reached on an error.
On the mound, junior Logan Matthews threw six innings and allowed five hits, four runs and three walks with five strikeouts. All four runs scored on Matthews were unearned with the Warriors committing four errors in the game.
Sophomore Wylie Griffith picked up a save but not without a little drama. The Tigers got their first two batters on base with a hit by pitch and error. But the Warriors shut it down with two ground outs and a Griffith strikeout.
Philomath opened the game with three runs in the first. Sophomore Caleb Babcock drove in two runs on a single to center and De La Rosa picked up a one-run single on a hit to left. The Warriors went up 4-0 in the second when Stearns hit a sacrifice fly to right to plate Matthews, who had reached earlier in the inning on a single.
Altishin, De La Rosa and Matthews each had two hits in the win. Matthews had the team’s lone extra-base hit with a double in the seventh.
Kai Carson had two doubles for the Tigers. Landon Hood threw a complete game with nine hits and six walks allowed to go along with five strikeouts.
In the second game, Philomath erupted for five runs in the second inning and kept La Grande in its place with effective pitching and fielding for the 7-3 triumph.
Matthews provided a highlight with a home run to left field that scored three runs. Philomath trailed 1-0 entering the second but quickly tied the score. Altishin led off with a single, advanced to second on an error and scored on a Kash Lindsey single to center. Junior Brady Russell followed with a double to drive in Lindsey. Two batters later, De La Rosa singled to right to set the stage for the Matthews dinger.
La Grande pulled back to within 5-2 in the bottom half of the inning but that would be it until the seventh for the home team. Junior Grant Niemann got the start at pitcher and tossed six innings, allowing just three hits and two runs with four walks and three strikeouts. Babcock came in for the seventh and allowed two hits and one run with two walks and two strikeouts.
The Warriors went up 6-2 in the fifth on an Altishin grounder to the shortstop that scored Babcock, who had earlier singled. Philomath added another run in the seventh on a one-run Olsen single.
Stearns went 2 for 4 at the plate for the Warriors.
The Warriors and Tigers had been scheduled to play games against Fruitland, Idaho. However, that school was not able to send its team and so Philomath and La Grande added a second game against each other.
