Philomath High sophomore pitcher Hailey Smith needed to hold on.
With the Warriors clinging to an 8-7 lead in the top of the seventh inning in Thursday’s softball matchup at Warrior Field, Smith focused on one thing at a time.
Gallery: PHS softball vs. Molalla (April 9, 2026)
A collection of photos from Philomath High’s 8-7 softball victory over visiting Molalla on Thursday,.
“I was like, ‘gotta hold this one, gotta hold this batter, keep it there, keep it in the infield’ and just allow my team to make plays,” Smith said.
The team’s pitching ace came through, retiring the first two batters on strikeouts before a ground-out to second base ended the game and preserved the Warriors’ 8-7 victory over the Indians.
The win was the fourth in a row for Philomath, which improved to 5-2 on the season.
Smith went the distance, throwing 114 pitches in a complete-game effort. She held Molalla to four hits, issued just one walk and struck out 11 batters. All seven of Molalla’s runs were unearned, as the Warriors committed seven errors.
“I feel like all pitchers have some sort of leadership role, especially when it comes down to close games like that,” Smith said. “You have to really hit your spots and trust your defense.”
PHS coach Kari Jaques was pleased with how Smith managed herself in the circle.
“What we try for Hailey is to make sure that she doesn’t over pitch because she wants to do it for the team,” Jaques said. “She did a great job today of not over pitching and did what she needed to.”
Smith’s resolve was tested early. With two outs in the third inning, junior catcher Riley Mason had to leave the game after a collision with Molalla freshman Paetyn Smith on a play at the plate. Junior Emily Burner stepped in to catch, and later, sophomore Cassie Greeley also caught some innings.
“I wasn’t really sure how it would go since I haven’t caught with Emily that much,” Smith said about the initial change. “But once I got warmed up, I was like, ‘she’s got this.'”
Jaques kept her message to her pitcher simple amid the shuffle.
“She had two different catchers coming in that hadn’t caught her before and I said, ‘you need to be the arm and throw and get it in the zone and we don’t need to get fancy,'” Jaques said. “And she did exactly that.”
The Warriors gave Smith plenty to work with early. After falling behind 1-0 in the first inning, Philomath answered with a seven-run bottom half. Mason drove in two runs with a single to shallow center, and Burner and sophomore Rylee Martin also plated runs in the surge.
The Warriors added what proved to be its decisive run in the third. Burner singled to right field and scored on a Molalla error with two outs to push the lead to 8-1.
Molalla slowly chipped away and made things interesting in the sixth inning. Three runs scored on two Philomath throwing errors to cut the deficit to 8-7, but Smith stranded any further damage by striking out the next two batters to end the threat.
“That three-run throw-around circus we had, I was waiting to see what would happen,” Jaques said. “And we decided to keep pushing and stay in it.”
The Warriors finished with 10 hits. Burner and junior Sierra Skaggs each had two hits. Martin and Mason each drove in two runs, and seven other Philomath players recorded hits. Skaggs hit a double in the sixth.
The victory extended a winning streak that began after back-to-back losses on March 23. Philomath’s last two wins have each come by a single run — Wednesday’s 11-10 road win at Country Christian and Thursday’s squeaker.
“We had those rough spots but then we came back together as a team, worked hard and figured it out,” Smith said.
Jaques said the experience of winning tight games has become its own source of momentum.
“We’ve learned that when we fight, it typically turns out well,” she said. “For us, it’s that extra positive thing to keep fighting and no matter what happens, keep fighting.”
Smith agreed, noting that close victories are doing more than just adding wins to the record.
“I feel like it really builds the team’s relationships,” she said.
Philomath is scheduled to host Yamhill-Carlton at 5 p.m. Friday at Warrior Field. The game has already been postponed twice and is weather permitting.
Philomath 8, Molalla 7
Thursday, April 9, at Warrior Field, Philomath HS
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E Molalla (6-4) 1 0 2 0 1 3 0 7 4 1 Philomath (5-2) 7 0 1 0 0 0 x 8 10 7
Smith and Mason, Burner (3); Brady, Jackson (1) and Imholt, Shultz (1). W — Smith. L — Jackson. 2B — Skaggs.
