Following a rough season in 2024, Philomath High softball has turned over a new leaf with first-year coach Kari Jaques now leading the program. Sophomores and freshmen make up more than 70% of the roster but with key returning players, including a half-dozen seniors with experience, and promising young talent, improved results just might be on the horizon.
Jaques stressed the basics when preseason drills started a few weeks ago.
“When we first started practicing, it was playing catch because there were a few games that I saw and a few that I’ve heard through feedback from the kids that that was a big thing —not making the outs by getting the throw to first,” Jaques said last week as an indoor practice started to wind down. “So that was just a basic that we had to start working on and it’s one of the big expectations that we work on in practice. If we aren’t throwing and catching well, then we stay and we throw and catch until we do.”
The Warriors are scheduled to take the field for the first time at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday at Crescent Valley.
Jaques sees attitude and effort as two key pieces to rebuilding a softball program that went 1-23 last season and hasn’t made the state playoffs since 2019.
“For us, it’s just really making sure that everybody knows what our expectation is and that we hold everybody to it and try to keep the game as fun as we can,” Jaques said. “But we also ask that you have the best attitude and give your best effort and us as coaches, will make the necessary adjustments that we need to. That’s what we’re moving forward with — just asking everybody to give it their all.”
In the circle, Philomath returns senior Laighla Hockema and sophomore Haley King. The coach mentioned that the position will get a boost with two incoming freshmen.
“We’re just going to try to get a good mix there,” Jaques said. “Everybody’s got a little bit different strengths as far as pitching is concerned … and the pitchers are also really good fielders. We’ll have a little bit of a rotation between playing certain positions and pitching.”
Behind the plate, fourth-year starter Jenae Traglia returns for her senior season. Traglia was an all-conference honorable mention pick last season.
Around the infield, seniors Zoee Howard at first base and Hannah Bennett at third base appear to be strong candidates to start. As of last week, Jaques didn’t throw any names out for possible starters at second base and shortstop. She also added that there are underclassmen that factor into possible playing time at first and third. Howard was named to the all-conference second team with her play last season.
“We’re pretty deep as far as the infield is concerned. At second base, we’ve got a group of four that’ll be rotating through and they’re all really good, give it a lot of effort and dive for balls,” Jaques said. “It’s just going to be a matter of who’s going where and we plug the other ones into the other positions.”
The situation will be similar at shortstop.
“We’ve got quite a few of our pitchers who are also shortstop so it’s going to depend on who’s pitching,” Jaques said. “We’ve got a lot of strong talent.”
The coach said Bennett “is holding down the fort at third” but could see innings elsewhere on the field as well.
“We’ve got a couple other people that might see some time there because Hannah is kind of a staple where she goes so she might be needed in some other places around the field,” she said.
Kohler, another all-conference honorable mention pick last season, appears to be penciled in for center field. As for left and right, the coach didn’t indicate who might be in the running to start but said “we’ve got a couple of other returners that are going to be out there but we’ve also got some underclassmen that are coming up that are pretty good talents out in the outfield, too.”
The Warriors have 28 student-athletes in the program — one player will miss the season with an injury.
“It gives us enough to swing a couple of them back and forth between the two teams but yeah, I think it’s a good number,” Jaques said.
Bennett and Traglia were chosen as the team’s senior captains.
Philomath will have a freshman presence on the varsity with two, maybe three, in the starting lineup.
Following Tuesday’s opener, the team is scheduled to play at home Wednesday against Blanchet Catholic. Then on March 24-25, the Warriors will again participate this year in the North Medford Spring Break Tournament.
“We kind of focusing on that being team bonding and just making it a fun experience because it’s not fun to go play in North Medford at 8 a.m,,” Jaques said, a reference to the two early-morning games that the Warriors have in the tournament.
Oregon West Conference play begins April 14 with a home game against Sweet Home.
Saff Evans and Paul Jaques will help as varsity assistants. The junior varsity team will be coached by Tim Muir with Shelly Kohn as an assistant.
