ASHLAND – The Southern Oregon University softball team's path to a third consecutive Cascade Conference championship cleared up considerably after wrapping up an effusive four-game sweep of College of Idaho on Saturday at University Field.

The No. 1-ranked Raiders rolled 6-0 in the third and final CCC game of the series, then finished off the non-conference finale 8-0 in six innings for their 12th and 13th straight wins. The Yotes had only been shut out once this season, two months ago, until SOU pitchers Gabby Sandoval and Lauren Quirke logged two more dominant starts.

With six conference games left to play, the Raiders (38-2, 20-1 CCC) are two games ahead of the Yotes (30-12, 18-3) and four ahead of third-place Oregon Tech (32-6, 16-5), who will meet next week at C of I.

The Yotes had won 24 of their last 25 games before meeting SOU. On the weekend, SOU outscored them 28-3, out-hit them 45-14, and committed just one error compared to their 11.

Senior second baseman Hannah Shimek went 7-for-8 on the day with a bunt-double and three stolen bases, and in Game 2 she broke SOU's all-time record for RBIs with three of them to raise her total to 143. Allie Stines also roped three doubles in the contest to break her own single-season Cascade Conference record, which now stands at 27.

In Game 1 Sandoval spun a two-hitter for her ninth shutout, went to 20-0 on the season, and moved to No. 4 on the NAIA's all-time wins list with her 110th. The Raiders broke open a scoreless game in the third inning with five two-out runs, the first two of which came in on Tayler Walker's bloop double. Rylan Austin, Katrina Winterburn and Olivia Mackey subsequently rolled RBI singles through the infield, and Riley Donovan hit a sacrifice fly in the sixth.

Sandoval, who struck out seven without a walk, has won 34 consecutive decisions.

Quirke went to 13-2 in the circle with her second win in as many days, a five-hitter that went down as her fourth shutout.

Sandoval and Quirke threw every inning for the Raiders over four games against C of I and combined for 27 strikeouts and one walk.

Quirke and Shimek hit RBI doubles in the first and third innings to put the Raiders up 2-0 before they put the game away with five runs in the fifth. Quirke went 2-for-4 with two RBIs and a run scored, Stines went 3-for-4 with three runs and Shimek was 4-for-4 with three RBIs and two runs.

The Raiders will play their final road series next Friday and Saturday at Carroll (Mont.).