ASHLAND – An afternoon spent with Southern Oregon pitchers
Lauren Quirke and
Gabby Sandoval did nothing to pad College of Idaho's NAIA-best run total Friday at University Field.
The top-ranked Raiders won 7-1 and 7-2 to seize first place in the Cascade Conference from the No. 23 Yotes, whose error total (8) was higher than their hit total (7) on the day. Sandoval improved to 19-0 with a three-hitter in Game 1 and Quirke was one short of a career-high with 12 strikeouts in Game 2, as the pair dealt C of I its first CCC losses of the year.
Winners of 11 straight, the Raiders (36-2 overall, 19-1 CCC) hold a one-game lead over the Yotes (30-10, 18-2) with seven circuit contests left to play. They'll match up again Saturday, playing another CCC counter at 11 a.m. to be followed by a non-conference finale.
Left fielder
Katrina Winterburn came up big for the Raider lineup with five hits. She went 3-for-3 in Game 1 with her third home run of the season, a two-run blast that keyed a four-run third inning and put SOU up 6-1.
The Raiders knocked out C of I's Game 1 starter, Katelyn Wilfert, after three frames.
Rylan Austin went 2-for-3 with an RBI and two runs scored,
Hannah Shimek had two hits, and
Riley Donovan had a hit, a walk, and a sacrifice fly that plated SOU's first run in the first.
Tanner Higgins provided the Yotes' run with a solo homer in the second, after which Sandoval settled down to retire eight straight batters. She didn't issue a walk and only struck out four but got the side looking in the seventh.
Quirke's Game 2 performance made her 12-2. She allowed a Kaily Christensen RBI single that gave C of I the lead in the first inning, but took it back with a two-run single of her own in the second.
Tayler Walker added the first of her two hits and RBIs later in the inning to make it 4-1, and
Riley Donovan extended a 4-2 lead in the sixth with a two-run double to left that just missed leaving the yard.
Annie Polster exited after 1 2/3 innings and took her first loss of the season for the Yotes, dropping to 8-1. Hannah McNerney was stellar in relief both games, totaling 6 2/3 innings in which she allowed just two earned runs.
SOU has won 10 consecutive CCC series since its last series loss, which occurred at College of Idaho in 2019.
