The Philomath High School baseball team ended conference play Thursday by splitting a home doubleheader against North Marion. The Warriors won the opener, 4-2, before falling in the nightcap, 6-3.
Philomath (19-4 overall, 12-2 Oregon West) will host nonconference opponent Blanchet Catholic at 5 p.m. Monday at Terry Stephenson Field. Blanchet is ranked No. 1 in Class 3A and enters a Friday game against Santiam Christian with a 22-0 record. The Warriors will recognize its seniors before the game.
Philomath has also added a playoff tuneup game for May 23 at home against South Umpqua with the first pitch scheduled for 4 p.m. The Warriors will then advance to the 4A playoffs on May 27 against an opponent to be determined.
Newport clinched the Oregon West regular-season title with a sweep this week over Cascade.
In Thursday’s games against North Marion, the Warriors opened with the two-run win behind a quality start from junior Wylie Griffith. In a seven-inning 108-pitch performance, Griffith allowed just four hits and four walks with five strikeouts.
Griffith was also the top hitter with a 3-for-3 effort. Senior Grant Niemann went 2 for 2, junior Caleb Babcock had a triple and senior Brady Russell knocked a double. Senior Kayson Olsen had a sacrifice fly in the third inning to drive in Griffith and give PHS a lead that it would not relinquish the rest of the way.
In the second game, North Marion (8-15, 5-9) broke a tie in the fourth inning on a triple by Aiden Yeaney, which drove in a run, and then Yeaney scored himself on an outfield error. Another run scored two batters later on a double by senior Jaxon DeFabis.
Philomath struggled to get anything going at the plate with four hits against North Marion sophomore Marcos Marquez. Among those was a triple by senior Joe Barnes.
On the mound, Barnes started and allowed two hits and three walks with six strikeouts in three innings. Niemann relieved in the fourth and allowed four hits and three walks with three strikeouts in a four-inning appearance.
Thursday at Terry Stephenson Field, Philomath HS
GAME 1
Philomath 4, North Marion 2
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E North Marion (8-15, 5-9) 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 2 4 0 Philomath (19-4, 12-2) 1 0 1 1 0 1 x 4 9 1
DeFabis and Flores; Griffith and Niemann. W — Griffith. L — DeFabis. 2B —Russell (P), Peirce (NM). 3B — Babcock (P).
Junior varsity: Philomath 13, North Marion 7
GAME 2
North Marion 6, Philomath 3
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E North Marion (9-15, 6-9) 1 0 2 3 0 0 0 6 6 4 Philomath (19-5, 12-3) 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 3 4 2
Barnes, Niemann (4) and Niemann, Henley (4); Marquez and Flores. W — Flores. L — Niemann. 2B — DeFabis (NM). 3B — Yeaney (NM), Barnes (P).
Junior varsity: Philomath 22, North Marion 4
SOFTBALL
Warriors post shut out on road
Philomath’s softball team ended its regular season with a 12-0 victory Thursday at North Marion. The Warriors will now await word on where they fall in the play-in round.
Based on the current OSAA rankings, Philomath would qualify for a play-in game in one of two at-large positions with its No. 18 ranking. The rankings freeze Monday night and league representatives would then figure out the matchups. It appears the Warriors would most likely play on the road late next week.
In the win over the Huskies, freshman Hailey Smith threw a complete-game shutout while giving up five hits and two walks with six strikeouts.
Offensively, sophomore Haley King had a big game at the plate by going 4 for 4 with four RBIs and three runs scored. Senior Kaylie Kohler was 3 for 3 with a double and two RBIs. Seniors Janae Traglia and Zoee Howard each collected two hits. Smith drove in a pair of runs.
Philomath 12, North Marion 0
Thursday at North Marion HS, Aurora
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E Philomath (13-11, 7-8) 0 3 0 3 2 1 3 12 14 0 North Marion (6-17, 2-13) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 3
Smith and Traglia#. W — Smith. L — No. 0 (name not on roster). 2B — Kohler (P), Garza (NM).
# North Marion’s battery not reported.