Philomath High senior Caleb Babcock was everything the team needed him to be Tuesday — sharp, efficient and in command of his pitches for six strong innings. But the bullpen couldn’t hold it in the seventh and West Albany sent a dozen batters to the plate in a decisive final frame to pull away with a 9-3 victory at Terry Stephenson Field.
Babcock allowed just three hits and no walks while striking out nine across his six-inning appearance. He threw 80 pitches with 58 going for strikes — a sign that the mechanical adjustments he and pitching coach JJ Faxon have been making over the past week or two are starting to take hold.
“He was sharp, he looked really good,” PHS coach Levi Webber said. “That’s the Caleb we’re used to seeing and it was really good to see him come out here and dominate for six innings and really get after somebody.”
Babcock credited recent work on his footwork and his off-speed offerings for the turnaround.
“I did some adjustments this last week and now I’m starting to feel a lot more comfortable with off speed and just staying consistent in the strike zone,” said Babcock, who plans to play this summer for the Benz Boys, a travel team out of Washington, before moving on to college ball at Linn-Benton Community College.
Webber noted that early-season struggles had stemmed partly from Babcock overcomplicating his approach on the mound.
“I think early in the season, he was trying to do a little bit too much, trying to get outside himself,” Webber said. “Him and JJ have been really working hard the last week or two on getting his mechanics back to where they need to be on a good, solid foundation.”
The results were evident Tuesday.
“Today, he pounded the strike zone, threw a ton of strikes,” Webber said. “He was able to throw the breaking ball for a strike, which has been a struggle for him so far this year.”
Babcock wanted to finish the game himself but was held to a pitch count. Sophomore Jayce Iverson took over for the seventh and West Albany found its footing at the plate, pushing across the bulk of its runs.
For Webber, the seventh inning summed up what his team has been working through this spring.
“The things that were getting us early in the season kind of reared their head in that seventh inning,” he said. “Part of it is we have a ton of inexperience, especially in the infield right now. Wylie (Griffith) is our only returning infielder out of the five infield positions, so there’s a lot of learning that’s going on, a lot of kids just trying to figure out what they need to do.”
The Bulldogs moved runners around efficiently in the inning, stringing together singles and aggressive base running to blow the game open.
“We get into situations, like we got into in the seventh inning, where they’re doing a lot of small ball stuff,” Webber said. “Right now, we just don’t have that leadership on the infield that can kind of take control of those situations and squash it — that’s something we’re working on with a young club.”
Philomath’s offense had its best moment with two outs in the third inning. Babcock and junior CK Kvidt singled, and junior Cameron Herbert drew a walk to load the bases. Junior Gavin Bennett followed with a double to give the Warriors a 3-1 lead. Bennett finished 2 for 3 with all three Philomath RBIs.
Despite the loss, Babcock remained confident in where the team is headed.
“I would say we’ve had a lot of bad luck so far and then we have a lot of little things that we need to work on,” he said. “I’m confident that our team is going to pick it up before league.”
For West Albany (5-4), sophomore Caden Lewis, senior Jaden Fifhause and sophomore Reagan Southard each had two hits. On the mound, junior Grant Bending went four innings and allowed four hits and five walks with three strikeouts before freshman Eli Reese finished with three hitless, walkless innings and three strikeouts to earn the win.
Philomath (4-5) travels to Molalla on Thursday before returning home Saturday for a doubleheader against Junction City at 11 a.m. and Cascade Christian at 4 p.m.
West Albany 9, Philomath 3
Tuesday, April 7, at Terry Stephenson Field, Philomath HS
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E West Albany (5-4) 1 0 0 1 0 0 7 9 9 1 Philomath (4-5) 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 3 4 3
Babcock, Iverson (7) and Herbert; Gr. Bending, Reese (5) and Lewis. W — Reese. L — Iverson. 2B — Bennett.
Junior varsity: West Albany 17, Philomath 5
