Several Oregon high school baseball teams have experienced a dramatic start to the 2026 season, with state champions suffering early losses and underdog programs making notable gains, according to a March 24 report.
The fast-paced opening week saw all defending state champions lose at least once. Summit was the last champion to fall, losing at the Coach Bob Invitational in Phoenix. Meanwhile, Wilsonville and South Salem, both undefeated in last year’s regular season, had their perfect streaks ended by Willamette and Ridgeview respectively. McNary matched its win total from last year within the first week of play.
Individual athletes also delivered remarkable performances. Creswell junior Jaxon Pelham threw an immaculate inning against Glide on Friday—striking out three batters on nine pitches—and finished five innings with eight strikeouts in a 10-0 victory. Country Christian / North Clackamas Christian started their campaign with three shutout wins over twenty innings; senior Tyson Smith struck out twenty batters in a complete-game shutout against Portland Christian and has accumulated 446 career strikeouts so far.
Other highlights include Junction City’s Conner Clift homering in both games last week while also pitching a one-hit shutout over Newport. Lincoln opened its season with wins over Sherwood and Sandy; Valley Catholic’s Brandon Yee pitched a perfect game followed by another strong outing against Seaside. Grant won its opener against Sprague on an extra-inning wild pitch after combined no-hit pitching efforts from both sides.
Hood River Valley began with a no-hitter led by sophomore Landen Pratt and senior Trevor Jacobs before defeating defending champion Pendleton / Nixyaawii for the second consecutive year. Klamath Union drew twenty-eight walks en route to beating St. Mary’s of Medford while throwing a combined no-hitter themselves.
Several coaches provided team previews: Franklin returns six starters including pitcher Silas Combs; Parkrose expects improvement as it fields two teams this year; Sisters looks to build on last year’s quarterfinal run despite graduating key players but retaining top pitcher Sebastian Storch.
