The Philomath High School baseball team’s season came to a close Wednesday night at The Dalles with a 6-3 loss in the first round of the Class 4A state playoffs.
The 10th-seeded Warriors end with an 18-9 record. The Dalles, seeded seventh, moves on to the quarterfinals with a 21-8 record and will face No. 2-seeded North Marion, which beat Gladstone, 4-0, on Wednesday.
Warrior Watch: All-conference baseball, tennis preview and award winners
Philomath High School senior Mason Stearns earned Co-Player of the Year honors and six other players also earned recognition on the all-Oregon West Conference baseball team released this week. Stearns led the team in key statistical categories both at the plate and on the mound. Typically at shortstop when not pitching, Stearns had a .419…
The Warriors and Riverhawks were caught up in a close two-run game into the fifth inning. Philomath struck first with a pair of runs in the top of the first.
With one out, junior Kayson Olsen was hit by a pitch in the helmet to get a pass to first base. On the first pitch to the next batter, Kash Lindsey, Olsen stole second. Two pitches later, he made his way over to third. Lindsey, a senior, then doubled to center field to give the Warriors a 1-0 lead.
Freshman AJ Altishin followed with a single into the outfield to get Lindsey over to third. Sophomore Rocco De La Rosa drove in the team’s second run with a sacrifice fly to left field to plate Lindsey.
But the Riverhawks answered in the bottom half of the second by scoring four runs — all unearned and all with two outs. The leadoff batter, Avery Schwartz, reached on an error and then Philomath got back-to-back outs on a fly to center and a pop-up to the catcher. Cody Agidius, Evan Ortega and Nolan Donivan each had one-run singles and the fourth run scored on a wild pitch.
Schwartz relieved starter Sam Shaver at pitcher with a runner on base in the third and fanned three straight. Senior Mason Stearns had led off the inning with a single and stole second but was stranded.
Stearns, the starter at pitcher, had a solid run on the mound over the next two innings with six up, six down. Four of those six outs were on plays by Olsen at shortstop.
Philomath threatened in the fourth when Lindsey reached on a one-out single. But Riverhawks catcher Cooper Kindt threw a strike to second base on a steal attempt. Altishin later singled but was stranded.
The Warriors also had a one-out single in the fifth when Stearns reached but Philomath couldn’t move him around the bases.
The Dalles then dealt a severe blow in the bottom of the fifth when Will Booth hit a two-run single for a 6-2 lead.
Philomath had one last chance in the seventh and brought the tying run to the plate. Junior Logan Matthews led off by drawing a walk, moved up to second on a passed ball and then over to third on a wild pitch. Stearns followed with a sacrifice fly to left field that got Matthews home.
Down by three runs, sophomore Caleb Babcock walked and Russell was hit by a pitch to keep Philomath’s hopes alive. But the game ended on a grounder to the shortstop.
Schwartz finished with nine strikeouts in his five innings of work for the Riverhawks. Luciano Alvarado went 2 for 3 at the plate.
Stearns threw all six innings for the Warriors, allowing six hits and no earned runs with one walk and five strikeouts. Stearns, Lindsey and Altishin each had two hits on offense.
