The Philomath High School baseball team completed a successful road trip Saturday with victories of 9-6 over Henley and 6-2 over Klamath Union.
The Warriors (5-3) enter Oregon West Conference play this week with a series against Sweet Home — away Monday and Thursday and at home Wednesday.
In Philomath’s victory over the Hornets, Mason Stearns threw a complete-game seven-hitter and Logan Matthews hit a go-ahead one-run single in the fourth inning.
The Warriors scored three in the top of the first without getting a hit. Caleb Babcock and David Griffith both reached on walks and came around to score. Stearns got aboard on an error and eventually scored on a wild pitch.
Henley came back with a productive bottom of the first with four runs and the score remained 4-3 into the fourth inning. That’s when Ty May and Matthews had one-run singles to give Philomath a 5-4 lead.
The Warriors extended their lead to 7-4 in the fifth. Daid Griffith hit a one-run double and later scored himself when Chad Russell reached on an error. PHS added two more in the sixth on a one-run single by Brayden Shenk, who would later score for a five-run lead.
Henley threatened in the seventh thanks to Philomath errors but the Warriors recovered in time to nail down the victory.
Stearns settled down after the first inning issues allowed two earned runs and one walk with four strikeouts in his seven innings of work. At the plate, Matthews went 2 for 4 with the team’s other hits scattered among five other players.
In the 6-2 win over Klamath Union, the Warriors got another complete-game performance at pitcher with Babcock also throwing a seven-hitter. This game was close throughout with the Warriors taking a slim 3-2 lead into the seventh inning before adding some insurance runs.
Philomath struck first in this one with a run in the third when Stearns singled, stole second and third and scored when David Griffith reached on an error. The Pelicans responded with a run in the bottom half — errors were a factor — and the game remained tied going into the fifth.
Philomath went up 2-1 on a one-run Stearns single, who would then later score himself on an error. Klamath came back with a run in the bottom of the fifth and the score remained 3-2 going into the seventh.
Grant Niemann walked and later scored when Wylie Griffith reached on an error. Babcock followed with a sacrifice fly to drive in Shenk, who had also walked. Wylie Griffith then scored on a wild pitch for a 6-2 lead.
Klamath Union got a couple of base runners aboard in the bottom of the seventh but the game ended on a ground out back to Babcock at pitcher.
Stearns led PHS hitters with a 3-for-5 effort with two runs. On the mound, Babcock threw 91 pitches and allowed no earned runs and two walks with eight strikeouts.
