ASHLAND – With another sweep in the books, Southern Oregon ran its winning streak to eight games on Saturday by peppering Northwest Christian with 21 hits and getting three stellar pitching performances in 10-0 and 6-3 victories at University Field.
The third-ranked Raiders (25-4 overall, 11-1 Cascade Conference) gave up just three earned runs in the four-game series.
Gabby Sandoval turned in her seventh shutout in Game 1, a one-hitter that the Raider lineup enabled her to finish in five innings, while
Jordyn Ragan and
Morgan Jones combined to keep the Beacons (4-17, 1-8) down in Game 2.
Rebecca Velasquez had the last of SOU's four extra-base hits in the opener – her second home run of the season, a two-run shot that made her 2-for-2 and the score 10-0 in the fourth. But for the second game in a row, the Raiders put eight on the board through the first three innings as
Hannah Shimek went 2-for-3 with two runs and an RBI,
Tayler Walker stroked a pair of RBI singles,
Tiana Brown went 2-for-3 with an RBI triple and
Allie Stines drove in two runs and scored another.
Shimek finished the series 7-for-12 with six runs and six RBI. Brown, Stines, Walker and
Lauren Quirke totaled five hits apiece.
It was more than enough support for Sandoval, whose ERA shrunk to 1.07 and record shot to 16-1, including 10-0 in conference play. She fanned seven more Beacons, giving her 17 strikeouts compared to two walks in two days.
Ragan held NCU to one run through the first three innings and Jones was charged with one earned through the last four in Game 2.
Tied 1-1 in the third inning, SOU took control with two-run doubles off the bats of Walker and
Paige Leeper.
Quirke was the only Raider with multiple hits, going 2-for-3 and slashing a run-scoring triple in the first. Brown went 1-for-2 with a walk and scored twice.
NCU's Jessica Garner went 3-for-4 while Tra Kucera and Alexis Westbrooks both recorded run-scoring singles.
The Raiders have scored 10 or more runs on 10 occasions since the last time they gave up 10.
They ended the week right where they started it – tied in first place with 14th-ranked Corban, which they'll visit next Friday and Saturday for a four-game set.
