The Cascade Cougars will square off against the Philomath Warriors at 5:00 p.m. on Thursday. Cascade is currently enjoying a perfect season and no doubt wants to keep things rolling.
Cascade is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Oregon's top teams: Sweet Home, who was ranked 25th at the time (Cascade was ranked 17th). The Cougars blew past the Huskies 12-6 on Wednesday. Considering the Cougars have won eight contests by more than five runs this season, Wednesday's blowout was nothing new.
Cascade got a massive performance out of Malia Scanlan, who went 3-for-5 with five RBI, two runs, and two doubles. That's the most RBI Scanlan has posted since back in April of 2024. The team also got some help courtesy of Cassidy Crabtree, who scored four runs and stole four bases while going 3-for-4.
Cascade hit smart and finished the game with only two strikeouts. The team has now struck out at least four batters in eight consecutive games.
Meanwhile, after a string of three wins, Philomath's good fortune finally ran out on Wednesday. They lost 15-1 to Stayton. The match marked the Warriors' lowest-scoring contest so far this season.
Kaylie Kohler made the most of her time at bat despite the final result and scored a run and stole a base while going 2-for-3.
Cascade's victory was their 14th straight on the road dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 11-0. The road wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 3.0 runs on average over those games. As for Philomath, their loss dropped their record down to 5-4.
Thursday's game might come down to which pitcher can control the ball better. Cascade has hit smart this season, having averaged an OBP of .500. However, it's not like Philomath struggles in that department as they've averaged .481. With both teams so capable at the plate, fans should be ready for an impressive hitting performance.
Everything went Cascade's way against Philomath in their previous meeting back in April of 2024, as Cascade made off with a 16-1 victory. Will the Cougars repeat their success, or do the Warriors have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
