Valley Catholic southpaw Brandon Yee is off to a fast start for the Valiants

It’s been just over a week since the first chalk lines were drawn on the 2026 season, but it feels like a lot has happened since.

All of the state champions have lost at least once, the last to fall, Summit, tasting defeat at the Coach Bob Invitational in Phoenix.

Wilsonville and South Salem, which were perfect in the regular season a year ago; saw their dreams of repeating that feat crushed, thanks to Willamette and Ridgeview, respectively.

And McNary, which won just three games all of last season, matched that total in the first week, one less than the win total of 6A champion Sunset, 4A champion Pendleton / Nixyaawii, 3A champion Blanchet Catholic and 2A/1A champion Umpqua Valley Christian COMBINED.

Yes, there’s a lot happening and it isn’t about to stop anytime soon!

Pelham 1-2-3

Jaxon Pelham, a junior LHP from Creswell, threw an immaculate inning at Glide on Friday. An immaculate inning occurs when a pitcher strikes out the side on nine pitches.

Pelham did the trick in the second inning of the second game of the doubleheader, which Creswell swept. All three Glide hitters went down looking. In the sequence, which is extremely rare, there were five called strikes, three swinging strikes and a foul ball.

Pelham went five innings in the 10-0 win, fanning eight while yielding two hits.

Ks and Os

Country Christian / North Clackamas Christian is off to a 3-0 start. More impressively, the Cougars have yet to allow a run over the first 20 innings of the season, while walking just one.

More impressively still, senior RHP Tyson Smith tossed a complete-game, three-hit shutout of 2A/1A state semifinalist Portland Christian on Thursday. Smith struck out 20 in the 2-0 win! Smith has 33 strikeouts already this year. His 446 career strikeouts are tied for fourth all-time. One hundred eighteen (118) more and Smith will set the Oregon career strikeout mark.

Clift notes

There’s been no “Sports Illustrated jinx” for Junction City standout Conner Clift. The senior, whose photo was featured in last week’s team preview article; homered in both of the Tigers’ games last week, a 12-1 win over North Marion / Gervais and a 9-0 shutout of Newport. Clift also was the winning pitcher against Newport, striking out nine while surrendering just a single hit.

Cardinals rule

Lincoln opened its 2026 season with impressive wins over Sherwood and Sandy on back-to-back days.

Jack Aleskus shined on the mound for the Cardinals versus the state-ranked Bowmen, giving up just one run in 4.2 inning in the 5-1 win. Finley Cunningham was effective on the bump against the Pioneers in Lincoln’s 10-0 win. Graeme Warner-McGee got the job done in all phases against Sandy, striking out three over 1.1 innings of work. While going 3-for-3 at the plate with two triples and three RBIs.

Yee willikers

Junior Brandon Yee is off to a smoking hot start on the mound for Valley Catholic. In his first start, versus Central Linn on March 20, he threw a five-inning perfect game, striking out 13.

Yee followed that up three days later by going the distance versus Seaside in a 5-1 win, fanning 11 while yielding just four hits and the earned run. 

Grant goes wild

6A state runner-up Grant started its 2026 campaign with a 1-0, extra-inning win over Sprague on opening day. The Generals scored the game’s only run on a wild pitch in the bottom of the 10th inning.

The teams combined for just four hits. Holden Rasmussen threw a no-hitter over five innings, striking out seven, for Sprague. Jinki Tomita and Lincoln Norick combined to go eight innings, fanning 14 combined. Nate Kagen and Jake Fisher each tossed a hitless frame in extras to ensure Grant the win.

Soph tosser leads HRV

Hood River Valley started the season with a bang. The Eagles no-hit St. Helens, 4-0, on Tuesday, sparked by starter Landen Pratt. The sophomore lefty struck out 10 over five innings, then gave way to senior Trevor Jacobs, who finished off the no-no while fanning five over his two innings on the mound.

Three days later, Hood River Valley took down defending 4A champion Pendleton / Nixyaawii, 7-2, on the road. This marked the second straight year beating the Bucks.

Klamath Union walks over St. Mary’s

Klamath Union benefited from a whopping 28 walks over five innings in a season-opening win over St. Mary’s of Medford, 32-1. The Pelicans threw a no-hitter at the Crusaders, with starter PJ Safford fanning seven over three perfect innings. Nathan Ferns had three hits and four RBIs for the Pels.

More team previews

We invited all varsity coaches who had yet to submit previews to complete our form. Three took us up on it.

6A Franklin was 1-25 a year ago. The win, 4-1 over Jefferson of Portland, was achieved with Silas Combs on the mound. He struck out 13 Democrats.

Combs is back, as are five other returning starters. The Lightning should be much more competitive this year. Andy Berger’s squad has experienced starters, with senior Aedyn Schegel also back; and an offense that will benefit from the bat of junior catcher Quinn Young. Jonah Bonnett, Elijah Stotts, Terrien Merrill and Francesco La Rose Johnson are others to watch for Franklin, which has not finished above .500 in 24 years.

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Getting athletes interested in baseball has been a hard sell at 5A Parkrose, but things are looking up for coach Jai Blair and the Broncos. The middle school now has a program, and the high school will field two teams this year, a significant turnout.

Parkrose was 7-18 a year ago as a young team and will be young again. The varsity roster has only two seniors, though James Waters is the anchor of the pitching staff. Juniors Jeremiah McCauley and Emilio Bueno and sophomores Casey Moyes, Hayden Bump and Joaquin DeGroot also will contribute on the mound and in the lineup. Keep an eye on C/RHP Levi Perez, a freshman with the potential to impact immediately.

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Sisters won 19 games and reached the 3A quarterfinals a year ago. The Outlaws have never won a state title but historically have been competitive in their classification.

Five seniors have graduated, including the entire outfield and standout pitcher Landen Scott; but pitcher Sebastian Storch and catcher Jace Owens return to lead Matt Hilgers’ team, which was ranked No. 3 in the pre-season Coaches Poll. Pitching and defense should be strong. Sisters will be relying on new faces to spark the offense. The team has scored 18 runs in a 2-1 start.