Undefeated South Salem might have best offense in Oregon high school baseball: ‘Hitting is very contagious with us’

The state title-hopeful Saxons have a .407 team batting average, and the squad is solid in every other area, too

South Salem senior Noah Scharer takes a swing at the plate during the Saxons’ 25-4 win at McNary. Scharer had two hits and two RBIs in the victory. / Dan Brood

KEIZER — Well, maybe No. 13 isn’t always unlucky.

It certainly didn’t seem to be for the South Salem baseball team.

Then again, with the way South Salem has been playing in the 2025 season, luck — good luck or bad luck — probably doesn’t matter.

The Saxons seem to be making their own good fortune — and plenty of it.

South Salem improved to 13-0 by powering its way to a 25-4 win over McNary in a Central Valley Conference game played Friday under sunny skies at McNary High School.

“It was really good,” said South Salem senior outfielder Gavin Price, who scored two runs and drove in two. “We just stay consistent and keep the energy up the whole game.”

The whole game, every game.

“I think we’ve got great team chemistry, and everyone is here to have fun, and it just shows on the field,” Saxons senior outfielder Noah Scharer said. “When you put talent and fun together, it works.”

So far, it’s worked to perfection for South Salem.

With their 13-0 record, the Saxons, through games of Monday, are the only undefeated baseball team in Class 6A, and one of four unbeaten teams in the state, along with Class 5A Wilsonville (13-0), Class 3A Blanchet Catholic (14-0) and Class 2A/1A Kennedy (13-0).

The South Salem Saxons congratulate each other after their 25-4 victory at McNary. South Salem improved to 13-0. / Dan Brood

“It’s motivating to be undefeated,” Scharer said. “We want to keep that rolling and hopefully stay undefeated for the rest of the season.”

“It just shows how much work we’ve been putting in, and the result of it,” South Salem junior catcher Teagan Scott said. “It’s been everyone sticking to the main plan since Day 1. Since my freshman year, everyone knew we were going to be in this position. It’s trusting our coach, trusting everyone on the team, and pushing through everything.”

“It means a lot,” South Salem head coach Max Price said. “You accomplished what you wanted to accomplish 13 individual times, and it adds up to 13-0. Obviously, our goal is to go beyond this.”

This year’s success for the Saxons shouldn’t come as much of a surprise. Last season, South Salem went 25-4 and reached the semifinal round of the Class 6A state playoffs. The Saxons have 11 seniors back from that semifinal squad.

“They mean everything,” Scott said of the seniors. “They’re the ones leading the way for us. Having them to look up to and lead the charge is for sure fun.”

Fun — that seems to be another key factor to the Saxons’ success.

“We’re having a lot of fun. That’s really important,” Gavin Price said. “Team bonding is a huge aspect of the game, and it’s important to have your teammates’ backs and to be friends on and off the field.”

South Salem senior Gavin Price rounds second base and heads to third during the Saxons’ 25-4 win at McNary in a Central Valley Conference game Friday. / Dan Brood

“It’s awesome. It’s everything,” Scott said. “It’s baseball — it’s fun. Find fun in everything you do.”

“It’s really fun. They’re a fun group,” Max Price said. “We’ve got a lot of team chemistry. The guys all genuinely seem to like each other. They want to win for each other. You blend all of those things together, and it’s pretty special.”

Speaking of special, the Saxons’ offensive attack is pretty darn special. Through 13 games, they’re scoring an average of 12.9 runs per game.

“I think we have the best offense in the state,” Gavin Price said.

South Salem senior Jackson Buckingham heads to home plate for a first-inning run in the Saxons’ 25-4 win at McNary on Friday. / Dan Brood

The numbers seem to back that up, as South Salem is boasting a .407 team batting average.

“It’s been that way all season. They all can hit,” Max Price said. “We have guys waiting on the bench who can hit; we have guys we’ve brought up from JV and they can hit. We’re in a really healthy spot offensively, where we have 14 guys who we’d be happy to have in the lineup any day.”

Scott, batting in the leadoff spot, is hitting .600 with a team-high 24 hits in 40 at-bats. He also has team-high totals of 27 runs, four home runs and 12 stolen bases. He went 4 for 4 with a home run, two doubles, four runs and four RBIs in Friday’s win at McNary.

Scott certainly hasn’t come out of nowhere, as he’s committed to play college baseball for Oregon State University.

“They started talking to me about eighth-grade summer, and I committed there before my freshman year,” Scott said.

South Salem junior catcher Teagan Scott looks to make a throw to third base during the Saxons’ 25-4 win at McNary. Scott went 4 for 4 with a home run. / Dan Brood

Junior shortstop Sawyer Nelson has a .512 batting average with nine doubles, three home runs, 23 runs and a team-high 29 RBIs.

Scharer has a .435 batting average with three doubles, three home runs, 17 runs and 16 RBIs. Senior third baseman Kevin Semm is batting .486 with seven doubles, two home runs, 18 runs and 17 RBIs. Gavin Price has a .432 batting average with two doubles, two triples, two home runs, 15 runs and 26 RBIs.

The list goes on and on, as junior Logan Scott, senior Jackson Buckingham and senior Josh Feik all have batting averages above .300.

“Hitting is very contagious with us,” Max Price said. “Once somebody starts, they all start.”

“The bats have been hot all year,” Scharer said. “We’ve been great on the base paths. The defense has been great all around. The pitchers have been great, as well.”

Senior Luke Erwin, sophomore Harrison Buckingham and sophomore Kellen Bowman are among the team’s top pitchers.

Erwin has a 5-0 record and 2.66 earned-run average with 30 strikeouts in 23 and two-thirds innings. Buckingham is 4-0 with a 2.51 ERA and 32 strikeouts in 22 and a third innings, and Bowman is 4-0 with a 1.33 ERA and 26 strikeouts in 21 innings.

South Salem sophomore Kellen Bowmen fires a pitch to the plate during the Saxons’ Central Valley Conference win at McNary. / Dan Brood

Besides hitting, pitching and defense (South Salem has a .965 fielding percentage), the Saxons have another strong asset going for them.

“Family, honestly,” Scott said. “We all get together extremely well. We all know each other extremely well. We all trust each other extremely well. It’s everything. Knowing that if we make a mistake, someone can back it up, and if the ball is hit to someone, we know they can make that play. That’s huge.”

“We’re just doing it for our teammates,” Gavin Price said. “Everyone has put in the work, put in the time, and everyone wants to win.”

With all of that going for them, as well as the unblemished record, the Saxons are aiming high for the rest of the season. In fact, they’re aiming as high as they can go.

“We want to win a state championship,” Gavin Price said. “It’s going to take everything we’ve been doing and a little bit extra effort and keeping our heads up.”

“We want to win out and win a state championship — simple as that,” Scharer said. “It’s going to take what we’re doing right now: working hard in practices, staying locked into games, and keeping our intent high.”

“We’re looking to win it all,” Scott said. “This is our year.”

South Salem head coach Max Price talks to senior Kevin Semm at third base during a timeout in the Saxons’ victory at McNary. / Dan Brood

“We haven’t been coy about it or shy about it — we want to win a state championship,” Max Price said. “We think this is the year we have all of the pieces. The pitching has come along as well. We all feel really good about where we are and the growth we have yet to come.”

South Salem, which holds the No. 1 spot in the latest Class 6A coaches poll and the OSAA Class 6A power rankings, has one impressive win over a fellow title contender, as it topped three-time defending state champion and No. 2-ranked West Linn 5-4 on April 8 at Volcanoes Stadium in Keizer, with Gavin Price having a walk-off hit in the seventh inning.

“We were definitely up for the challenge in that one,” Scharer said. “They’re a good team, and we’ll probably see them in the playoffs later this year.”

Whoever South Salem meets in the state playoffs, they’ll likely see the best the determined, driven, hard-hitting Saxons have to offer.

“If we win, that’s awesome,” Max Price said. “If we don’t, we did everything we could to try for it.”

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