CALDWELL, Idaho – The Southern Oregon softball team lost two in a row for the first time since 2017 on Friday at the hands of College of Idaho, which took 3-1 and 6-3 decisions at Symms Field to end the fourth-ranked Raiders' Cascade Conference winning streak at 22 games.
Colette Robert's pitching and Taylor Eakle's power were culprits for the Yotes (35-11, 20-6 CCC), who put the pressure on SOU (40-7, 23-3) to win Saturday's CCC regular-season finale in order to deny Oregon Tech a share of the title.
In Game 1, Robert improved to 18-3 by five-hitting the Raiders and didn't allow a run until
Olivia Mackey's RBI infield single with two outs in the seventh. Sandoval was working on a no-hitter until, with one out in the fifth, Eakle drove a solo home run to left field.
The Yotes scored two more in the sixth when Trystin Crofts hit a run-scoring triple and a groundout brought her home. Sandoval (26-3) had won 24 consecutive decisions in conference play dating back to last season before the outing, though she struck out eight and only gave up three hits in a complete game.
Tied 1-1 in Game 2, the Yotes broke it open with a five-run third in which four consecutive batters came up with extra-base hits. A costly error extended the frame, and with two outs Crofts lined an RBI triple, Marissa Maddox doubled and Delaney Atkins and Eakle hit back-to-back home runs.
SOU third baseman
Lauren Quirke had two hits in the game – a solo homer, her fifth of the season in the first inning, and an RBI single in the fifth.
Jordyn Ragan (5-1) took her first loss despite a season-high 10 strikeouts. Four of the five runs she was charged with were unearned.
Robert saved Hannah McNerney's win with 2 2/3 innings of scoreless relief work.
Oregon Tech swept its doubleheader Friday at Eastern Oregon. To force a co-title scenario, the Owls need a win in their finale coupled with an SOU loss, but the Raiders have already locked up the No. 1 seed and hosting rights for next weekend's CCC Championships based on the head-to-head tiebreaker.
