2/4 p.m. Friday – Northwest Christian at SOU – Live Stats
11 a.m./1 p.m. Saturday – Corban at SOU – Live Stats
*Asante Breast Cancer Awareness Day: SOU will be donating a portion of Friday's gate and will be accepting donations to the Asante Ashland Community Hospital Foundation's Women's Imaging and Mammogram Fund.

ASHLAND – Southern Oregon's final weekend at University Field of the regular season could also be considered its most important in the last 10 years. Make it a good one and the Raiders will have taken a big step toward locking up some postseason home dates, too.

SOU (28-12 overall, 14-6 CCC, 9-3 CCC West) will host doubleheaders at 2 p.m. Friday against Northwest Christian (13-27, 7-13, 6-10) and at 11 a.m. Saturday against Corban (29-14, 13-7, 11-5). The Raiders will start the weekend in first place in the CCC's West division, which was news even to some of the CCC's coaches until the conference office sent out a clarifying memo last Saturday.

Here's why: To accommodate the additions of four teams this season, the CCC split into East and West divisions. However, some were operating under the assumption that division standings were arranged by overall CCC records, which include games played against teams from both divisions. On the contrary, the memo explained that standings are arranged by records against teams from one's own division only. So, since the Raiders are 9-3 in the CCC West, they are actually ahead of Oregon Tech (15-5 CCC overall, 8-4 CCC West), which would otherwise have a one-game lead in the overall CCC standings.

On May 6-8, the winner of the West division gets to host the CCC tournament, which will determine the conference's two automatic bids to the 40-team NAIA tournament. The top three teams from the West and top two from the East will get the first five spots in the CCC tournament, and the final spot will be awarded to the team with the next-best overall CCC record.

NAIA Top 25: After dropping from 16th to 25th last week, the Raiders moved up seven spots to No. 18 in this week's national coaches' poll. That ranking is SOU's highest this late in a season since 2003, when the Raiders were No. 18 in mid-April and 16th by the end of the year. The only other team representing the CCC in the poll is No. 25 Oregon Tech, which split with SOU last Saturday but lost the season series, 3-1.

The Secret's in the Circle: From 2003 to 2005, when the Raiders won their only CCC titles in team history, they led the conference in earned-run average every year. But since then, they've ranked better than fourth in team ERA just once – in 2009, when they ranked third in ERA and were second in the standings, a position they haven't gotten back to since. Thanks to senior Sydney White and freshman Victoria Mackey, the Raiders are back on top with a league-best 2.68 team ERA in conference play. White (10-6, 2.54) has pitched complete games in seven straight starts without allowing more than two earned runs in any of them. Mackey (13-2, 1.88) hasn't walked anyone over her last three starts (a span of 18 1/3 innings) and, to neutralize a low strikeout rate, has only issued 17 walks in 100 2/3 innings this season.

Short Hops:

• SOU has stolen 60 bases on 65 attempts in CCC play. That's 18 more steals than Corban, which ranks second in the category and has been caught seven times. Kayleen Smith (21-for-21) and Kelsey Randall (20-for-22) have more steals than all but three teams in the conference by themselves.
• Playing in a platoon role, Tyler Burke leads the Raiders in conference batting average (.400) and on-base percentage (.462). Randall (.387) and Smith (.379) still lead the team in overall average.
• After starting the season 2-for-33, Taylor Martinez is 16-for-41 (.390) in CCC play.
• In 2015, Raider catchers combined to hit .220. This year, Jazmin Ruvalcaba is at .346 in CCC action and Nicole Cardoza has reached base safely the last nine games in which she's appeared.
• Just a sophomore, Randall continues to move up SOU's career ranks: The shortstop is four runs away from breaking into the program's all-time top five (88), three hits away from breaking into the top five (139) and four steals way from breaking the team record (60).
• SOU is 24-5 when scoring at least three runs, 21-4 when scoring first, 15-1 when scoring in the first inning and 22-1 when leading after six.

About Northwest Christian: SOU won the first two meetings April 5 in Eugene, 4-2 and 11-2… The Beacons are hitting .241 as a team and opponents are hitting .342… They're led at the plate by the CCC's two leaders in home runs, Parker Fritter (.354, 10 HR, 11 2B, 30 RBI) and Ashlee Cole (.337, 12 HR, 7 2B, 32 RBI)… Their pitching rotation consists of Janieve Boyes (3-9, 4.97), Katie Walker (3-8, 5.68) and Breanne Johnson (4-8, 6.09)… SOU leads the all-time series, 47-11.

About Corban: The Warriors swept their first doubleheader against SOU in Clackamas, 9-4 and 2-1… They bat .349 as a team, allow .234 and have hit a CCC-high 50 home runs… Their leaders at bat are Taylor Eilders (.424, 7 HR, 29 RBI), Allie Mendez (.418, 3 HR, 17 RBI), Iris Rodriguez (.413, 17 2B, 4 HR, 44 RBI) and Grace uttogalarneau (.321, 11 HR, 27 RBI)… In the circle, they go with Allie Mendez (10-7, 2.42), Jessica Holsinger (13-6, 2.77) and Sabrina Boyd (3-0, 2.70)… SOU leads the all-time series, 31-24.