Philomath High’s baseball team honored its only two seniors before the first pitch Wednesday and the duo made sure their last regular-season home game was a memorable one in a 12-1 victory over North Marion.
Wylie Griffith and Caleb Babcock — both four-year members of the varsity program — delivered at the plate and on the mound as Philomath extended its win streak to six.
Gallery: PHS baseball vs. North Marion (May 20, 2026)
A collection of photos from Philomath High’s 12-1 baseball win over North Marion on Wednesday,
“It’s the last home game of the season and it could be the last game we’re playing on this field,” Griffith said. “I wanted it to be a good one.”
Griffith did just that, going 3 for 3 with three runs scored and three RBIs while also tossing all five innings on the mound. He allowed four hits, one run and one walk with five strikeouts, needing just 74 pitches to close out the shortened game.
“He throws a ton of strikes and he gives us a chance every game,” coach Levi Webber said. “And then what he did at the plate today on Senior Day was pretty fun to watch, too — getting three knocks and driving in a few runs.”
Babcock contributed a ground-rule double as part of his own strong day.
“A really good day all around for Wylie and then Caleb obviously had a great day, too, with the double bouncing over the center-field wall,” Webber said. “It was a good way to send those guys out because they’ve both been within our program at the varsity level for four years.”
The Warriors wasted no time by plating five runs in the bottom of the first. Sophomore Sammy Hernandez singled up the middle and came around to score on a Griffith single. After junior AJ Altishin and Babcock were both hit by pitches to load the bases, junior Gavin Bennett drew a bases-loaded walk to force in a run. Junior Rustan Woosley followed with a two-run single and a grounder by junior Jacob Hernandez brought home the fifth run.
Philomath added four more in the second. Griffith singled and scored on an Altishin triple to right, and Babcock plated Altishin with his ground-rule double to center. Bennett later drove in Babcock to make it 9-0 with a ground-rule double of his own.
The Warriors tacked on two in the third on a Griffith double and an Altishin single, then added another in the fourth when Griffith was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to force in a run.
North Marion’s lone run came in the fourth. Sophomore Jaxson Peirce doubled to right-center and moved to third on a single by Marcos Marquez before scoring on an error.
Defensively, the Warriors turned a double play in the third when Altishin snared a line drive at second base and threw to junior CK Kvidt at first to double off a runner.
Sammy Hernandez also went 3 for 3, while Altishin finished 2 for 3 with two RBIs. Bennett and Woosley each drove in two runs.
The win kept Philomath in the conference title hunt. Babcock pointed to a difficult early-season schedule as a turning point for a team that has surged down the stretch.
“I would definitely say we had a tough schedule to start and then confidence,” Babcock said. “Once we started winning, it just kind of carried on.”
Webber echoed that the team needed time to find its footing.
“There were a lot of things early on that we had to battle through whether it was roster things or just new guys coming into the varsity level or playing a ton of games in eastern Oregon,” Webber said. “I feel like we definitely weren’t playing to our potential early on. We took some lumps but we learned and we’ve gotten a lot better.”
Entering the regular-season finale, Philomath sits tied atop the conference with Stayton, which survived a 3-1 road test at Sweet Home on Wednesday. Stayton, which took two of three from the Warriors earlier this season and holds the higher OSAA ranking, could clinch the top spot with a home win over the Huskies on Thursday.
A first-place finish would earn Philomath a home playoff game. As a conference runner-up, the Warriors would face a road trip with La Grande, Junction City and Molalla appearing to be among the possible first-round destinations. Stayton’s ranking is close to those other teams but matchups between conference teams are avoided in the opening round.
“There are definitely some games we lost that we shouldn’t have,” Griffith said. “I think we’ll be good in the playoffs hopefully. We’re starting to come into our own now.”
Babcock is relishing whatever comes next.
“I think that everybody this year could beat everybody,” he said. “I’m looking forward to whoever we’re playing. I don’t have a favorite or anything, just excited to see who we get.”
Philomath closes the regular season at 5 p.m. Thursday at North Marion in the series finale.
Philomath 12, North Marion 1 (5)
Wednesday, May 20, at Terry Stephenson Field, Philomath HS
Team 1 2 3 4 5 R H E North Marion (5-19, 3-11) 0 0 0 1 0 1 4 1 Philomath (14-11, 10-4) 5 4 2 1 x 12 11 1
Graves, Jones (3) and Flores; Griffith and Herbert. W — Griffith. L — Graves. 2B — Babcock (P), Bennett (P), Griffith (P), Peirce (NM). 3B — Altishin (P).
Junior varsity: Philomath 12, North Marion 2
