SAN MATEO, Calif. – The third-ranked Southern Oregon softball team improved to 6-1 on Saturday by winning both halves of a twin bill against Menlo (Calif.), 11-1 and 7-6 at San Mateo College.
In the opener, junior pitcher
Gabby Sandoval (3-1) threw a four-hit complete game with a line that was touched only by an unearned run. In Game 2, after three consecutive Menlo hits to start the seventh, Sandoval inherited a first-and-third situation and set down three straight Oaks to get the save, yielding only a sacrifice fly.
The Raiders opened Game 1 with a three-spot in a first inning highlighted by
Allie Stines' two-run double.
Tayler Walker hit another two-RBI double that triggered a five-run sixth, and freshman
Payton West stroked her first home run in a seventh-inning pinch-hit appearance.
Lauren Quirke went 2-for-3 with a walk and a pair of doubles in support of Sandoval, who walked three and struck out three in her third complete game without giving up an earned run.
SOU scored three more in the first inning of Game 2 as Quirke and Walker had back-to-back RBI doubles and
Tiana Brown added a run-scoring single. Quirke went 4-for-4 and reached five times, while Brown went 3-for-4 with another RBI single in the third.
In the fourth,
Rebecca Velasquez's two-run single up the middle extended SOU's lead to 7-4.
Morgan Jones (2-0) got the decision, allowing two runs in 3 2/3 innings of relief work.
At 11 a.m. Sunday, the Raiders will play a doubleheader against ninth-ranked Hope International (Calif.).
