The South Salem Saxons are taking a road trip to take on the Mountain View Cougars at 12:00 p.m. on Saturday. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (South Salem has five straight wins, Mountain View has three straight losses), but none of that matters once you're on the field.
South Salem is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Oregon's top teams: Grant, who was ranked tenth at the time (South Salem was ranked first). The Saxons put the hurt on the Generals with a sharp 10-3 victory on Wednesday. The Saxons might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won three matches by seven runs or more this season.
Noah Scharer
| 04/02/25 @ Grant | 3 |
| 04/24/24 vs Sprague | 2 |
| 04/19/24 vs McNary | 2 |
| 03/29/24 vs McNary | 3 |
Noah Scharer was a major factor while hitting and pitching. He looked comfortable on the mound, tossing one inning while giving up no earned runs or hits. What's more, he posted three strikeouts, the most he's had since back in March of 2024. He was also stellar in the batter's box, scoring two runs and stealing a base while going 3-for-4. He has been hot recently, having posted at least one stolen base the last four times he's played.
In other pitching news, Harrison Buckingham looked comfortable as he struck out six batters over four innings while giving up just two earned runs off three hits. He has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't tossed less than five strikeouts any time he's pitched this season.
Back at the plate, Sawyer Nelson was incredible, going 3-for-4 with one home run, two stolen bases, and four RBI. That's the most stolen bases he has posted since back in March of 2024. Gavin Price also deserves some recognition as he hit his first triple of the season.
Meanwhile, it was a proper cat-fight when Mountain View faced off against Wilsonville on Wednesday. The Cougars came up short against the Wildcats, falling 21-0. The game marked the first time this year in which the Cougars were not able to get on the board.
Mountain View now has a losing record of 2-3. As for South Salem, their win was their third straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 5-0.
South Salem came out on top in a nail-biter against Mountain View in their previous meeting back in May of 2024, sneaking past 8-6. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Saxons since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
