ASHLAND – Southern Oregon is one win away from becoming the first team to ever get through a Cascade Conference softball schedule with just one loss after applying the eight-run mercy rule twice more against Corban on Friday at University Field.
The No. 1-ranked Raiders only needed five innings to finish off both wins against the Warriors, 8-0 and 13-5, and bring their record to 43-3 overall and 25-1 in the CCC entering the final day of the regular season.
Gabby Sandoval pitched a three-hit shutout and
Lauren Quirke drove her seventh home run of the month in Game 1, and the Raiders erased a 5-2 deficit with a 10-run fourth inning in which
Allie Stines tallied five RBIs in Game 2.
The Warriors (25-19, 16-10) locked into the No. 4 seed for next week's six-team CCC Tournament with the losses.
Sandoval earned both wins – the 113th and 114th of her career – after pitching the final 1 2/3 innings in relief in the nightcap. They made her 24-1.
She brought a no-hitter into the fifth inning of Game 1, striking out eight with no walks. A pair of unearned runs against Corban starter Ally Crakes gave her a lead in the second, and the Raiders added four more in the third on
Rylan Austin and
Olivia Mackey RBI singles,
Katrina Winterburn's RBI triple, and Quirke's 10th home run – a shot over the fence in right field.
Quirke's recent run has brought her within two homers of SOU's single-season record. She,
Riley Donovan,
Avery Morehead-Hutsell,
Tayler Walker and Austin had two hits each in Game 1.
In Game 2, Makiah Johnson's two-run double and run-scoring single helped the Warriors to a 5-2 edge heading into the bottom of the fourth. There, SOU sent 14 batters to the plate.
Stines came up with the bases loaded twice in the inning, clearing them with a double on the first occasion and capping the rally with a two-run single on the second.
SOU totaled 13 hits and the Warriors assisted with five errors.
Hannah Shimek went 2-for-4 with four runs and an RBI, Austin went 3-for-4 with three RBIs and a run scored, and Mackey added a pair of hits and runs.
The teams will play two more Saturday, a CCC counter at 11 a.m. and a non-conference finale at 1 p.m.
The Raiders won all nine of their CCC series this season. They've won 22 of their last 23 dating back to 2018, including 11 straight home series.
