The Seaside boys baseball team looked to continue soaring to start the season, a new-look Warrenton team took the field the first time, the Knappa boys got hammered and Astoria’s baseball team debuted. Elsewhere, Astoria softball’s new pitcher threw another gem.

Astoria softball grinds out a win

Sometimes all it takes is a little scrappiness and patience. This was true for Astoria’s softball team Friday afternoon at CMH Field.

Facing one of the best returning pitchers in the state, the Astoria girls were only able to muster one hit, but still found a way to win the game behind their championship experience and great pitcher.

The Astoria girls are playing a murder-row schedule from start to finish this season. It started off with an always good Yamhill team last Wednesday, then continued with 4A Gladstone and hard throwing pitcher Ashlynee Franssen. After scoring just one run against Yamhill, it was clear the Fishermen were going to struggle to put anything on the board Friday night. Though the Fishermen are used to facing elite pitching due to playing Scappoose and St. Helens multiple times a year, Franssen seemed to give them more trouble than most. The junior returned as one of the top pitchers in the state and showed why on Friday. Franssen struck out the first nine hitters she faced and pretty much just threw fastballs right down the middle that the Fishermen were not able to catch up to. But every step of the way she was matched by Astoria’s new ace, Taryen Wray. In fact, Wray struck out eight of the first nine batters she faced on Friday.

The game had all the makings of a pitchers’ duel. Since the Fishermen knew they would struggle to make solid contact against Franssen, the girls changed strategy the second time through and started to wait her out. Despite having great stuff, the junior showed some wildness and the Fishermen took advantage in the fourth inning.

Leadoff hitter Hailey Svensen worked a walk, then stole second and third. She proceeded to score on a passed ball to get the Fishermen on the board first. This strategy continued as the Fishermen were able to work three walks in the inning, then used their speed and small ball to put three runs on the board. This proved to be all they needed as Wray continued mowing down the Gladiators to the tune of 14 strikeouts and zero walks in her seven innings of work. Wray gave up just four hits and one unearned run. Franssen had an insane night as well, going six innings, giving up just one hit to catcher Finley Cameron and striking out 16 of the 18 batters she faced.

Through two games the Fishermen have only scored four runs, so it’s hard to tell if the lineup has taken a step back due to losing two of their best hitters, or if the girls have just faced phenomenal pitching. Regardless, the Fishermen have started their title defense 2-0 and will get a chance to really see how good they are this week at The Dalles Spring Break Tournament.

Seaside baseball keeps flying

The Seaside boys baseball team might not want to leave Hillsboro, as the stadium was very kind to them. Seaside played two games on the turf fields and went 2-0 after defeating 5A Hillsboro 5-3 on Thursday.

This game came down to the Seagulls being cleaner in the field as they made three errors compared to seven for Hillsboro. Also, Seaside pitchers Hayden Halsen and Tanner Long did a good job pitching out of jams. The duo gave up a combined eight hits in seven innings, but only allowed three runs to pass.

The Seagulls were efficient at the plate scoring five runs on five hits.

Halsen, Jake Baldridge and Kane Israel had a hit, while Ethan Underhill had two hits and a run batted in. Long was the standout pitcher on the mound as he went four shutout innings and allowed just four base runners.

Seaside returned home for a Monday home game against Valley Catholic before going on the road to Madras, where they will take part in the Spring Break Tournament.

New-look Warrenton looks good

So far, so good for the new look Warrenton Warriors baseball team.

After being led by mostly seniors a year ago, this team now has just two. This year’s team is led by a strong sophomore and junior class. The Warriors started off the season with a 17-5 victory over North Marion on Friday.

This game was a clinic for the Warriors as they committed zero errors and had a total of 13 hits in their five inning demolition. The Warriors scored in four of the five innings, including a six-run third and three-run fifth.

Senior Zephan Pierce led the way with three hits and three runs batted in. He was joined by Ryan Palmer, who had two hits and three RBIs. Aaron Neahring and Finley Marshall also had multi-hit games, with Neahring having two RBIs as well. With Pierce, Palmer and Neahring batting third, fourth and fifth in the lineup the Warriors had seven of their 13 hits and eight of the RBIs from the heart. This bodes well for them moving forward.

On the mound, Palmer, RJ Thornton, Neahring and Dylan Ballard combined to throw the five innings.

Next up for the Warriors is a trip down to Medford to take part in the Challenger Classic and maybe get a rematch with Cascade Christian, the team that eliminated them in last year’s state semi-final.

Astoria boys take a fall

The new season for the Astoria boys baseball team didn’t start how they would have liked.

The Fishermen fell 9-0 to Gladstone on Thursday afternoon to open up their season on the losing end.

Astoria was doomed by three big innings as the Gladiators scored three runs in the first, second and sixth. Also, the Fishermen committed two errors that ended up leading to six unearned runs. Pitcher Dallas Norris was the hard luck loser as he gave up six total runs in three innings, but only three of them were earned. Archer Hawkins and Joey Gramlich did a good job of stopping the bleeding, but the Fishermen struggled to get anything going with the bats as they had just five hits on the day.

Sam Schacher, Gramlich and Brayden Wintersteen had one hit, while Tristan Norgaard had two. Though the team had only five hits, they did a decent job of putting the ball in play as they struck out only six times as a team.

The Fishermen will spend this coming week on the road at the Riverhawk Baseball Invitational.

Knappa boys off to rough start

It’s been a rough start for the Knappa boys so far in 2026.

After losing their opening game to Rainier, the Loggers got blown out by a very good Ilwaco team on Friday.

The Loggers traveled over the river to take on baseball powerhouse Ilwaco. Friday’s game was competitive through the first two innings, then a moment by an Ilwaco sophomore sent Knappa on a downward trajectory.

A grand slam by Cody Kaino changed the course of the game in the bottom of the third inning. This helped the Fishermen score the last 18 runs of the game to roll 20-2 over Knappa in an early season thrashing.

Knappa will look to get on the board as they travel to Eastern Oregon for the CU Spring Bash in La Grande this coming week.