CASCADE CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIPS presented by U.S. Bank
May 7-9 | University Field | Ashland, Oregon
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FRIDAY'S GAMES
Game 1 @ 9 a.m. – #4 Corban vs. #5 Eastern Oregon
Game 2 @ 11:30 a.m. – #3 Oregon Tech vs. #6 Warner Pacific
Game 3 @ 2 p.m. – #1 Southern Oregon vs. Winner of Game 1
Game 4 @ 4:30 p.m. – #2 College of Idaho vs. Winner of Game 2

SATURDAY'S GAMES
Game 5 @ 9 a.m. – Loser of Game 2 vs. Loser of Game 3 (loser eliminated)
Game 6 @ 11:30 a.m. – Loser of Game 1 vs. Loser of Game 4 (loser eliminated)
Game 7 @ 2 p.m. – Winner of Game 3 vs. Winner of Game 4
Game 8 @ 4:30 p.m. – Winner of Game 5 vs. Winner of Game 6 (loser eliminated)

SUNDAY'S GAMES
Game 9 @ 11 a.m. – Loser of Game 7 vs. Winner of Game 8 (loser eliminated)
Game 10 @ 1:30 p.m. – Winner of Game 7 vs. Winner of Game 9 (championship)
Game 11 – Thirty minutes after completion of Game 10 (if necessary)

ASHLAND – The gap between the Cascade Conference's top teams and everyone else was sizable during the regular season, and No. 1-ranked Southern Oregon won't mind if the rigid pecking order is maintained during this weekend's CCC Championships presented by U.S. Bank.

The six-team, three-day, double-elimination tournament gets underway Friday at University Field. The Raiders (45-3 overall), hosting for the third postseason in a row, open at 2 p.m. against the winner of an early game between fourth-seeded Corban and fifth-seeded Eastern Oregon. After winning the regular-season title with a four-game cushion, they're going for their fourth straight tourney crown.

FAN POLICY: Due to Jackson County's COVID-19 risk level and under SOU policies, only 75 fans will be allowed inside University Field for each game. For all non-SOU games, seats will be available on a first-come, first-serve basis. For all SOU games, there will be 25 available for the visiting team on a first-come, first-serve basis and 50 reserved for SOU's guest list. Fans are also welcome to watch the games free of charge from the areas outside of the large main fence down the left- and right-field lines. Fans must wear masks on SOU property at all times.

PLAYOFF PICTURE: No matter what happens this weekend, SOU's spot in the 40-team NAIA Softball Championship is secure. The Raiders earned the CCC's first automatic bid as regular-season champions, and on Monday were selected to host the NAIA Opening Round in partnership with the City of Medford at U.S. Cellular Community Park on May 17-19. If they win that four-team bracket, they'll have a berth in the NAIA World Series for the fourth straight postseason. The CCC's second automatic bid to the Opening Round will go to the tournament champion, or, if SOU wins it, to the other tourney finalist.

RAIDER TOURNAMENT HISTORY: The Raiders have won nine consecutive CCC Tournament games dating back to 2017. That year, they knocked off Corban on the road to win the program's first title. The next year, they defeated Eastern Oregon in the championship as the top seed to become the first team to go back-to-back since Oregon Tech in 2011-12. And in 2019, they became the first CCC team ever to win three straight titles, routing OIT in the championship to jump-start a run that took them to the NAIA title. Overall, this marks their seventh consecutive postseason appearance.

NAIA TOP 25: The final NAIA coaches' poll until after the World Series was released Wednesday, and it again showed the Raiders at No. 1 – the same spot they've held since June 2019. They received 18 first-place votes, No. 2 Oklahoma City got the other, and Science & Arts (Okla.) slotted in at No. 3. Among CCC teams, College of Idaho moved up eight spots to No. 15, and Oregon Tech dropped 11 to No. 6. The only other West Coast team in the poll was Hope International (Calif.), at No. 11.

SHORT HOPS:

• In their last 50 games at University Field, the Raiders are 49-1. The last team to defeat them in Ashland was Eastern Oregon on March 1, 2019, and the last team to win a CCC series here was Oregon Tech on April 13-14, 2018.
• SOU outscored its opponents by 205 (250-45) runs in conference play. The Raiders' margin was plus-122 when they won the title in 2019 and plus-108 in 2018.
• Lauren Quirke is the third CCC Player of the Year in team history, following Haley Varley (2003) and Harlee Donovan (2018). Among all NAIA players, she's fifth in hits (79) and RBIs (59) and 10th in batting average (.482). If the season ended today, she'd have the best career average (.466) in CCC history by a margin of 16 points.
• Gabby Sandoval, now a two-time CCC Pitcher of the Year, has a 16-2 career record in postseason play. In the 2019 postseason, she pitched 69 1/3 of SOU's 77 defensive innings and went 9-1 with a 1.51 ERA.
• Two Raider regulars have yet to commit an error this season: right fielder Olivia Mackey and Tayler Walker, who joined center fielder Avery Morehead-Hutsell and catcher Allie Stines in winning CCC Gold Gloves. As a team, the Raiders have committed fewer than half as many errors (37) as their opponents (37) for the third year in a row.
• Only two players in SOU history have registered at least 200 hits: Kelsey Randall (336) and Hannah Shimek (249). By the end of the weekend, there could be four: Olivia Mackey and Allie Stines both sit at 198.
• Shimek and Stines lead the CCC in triples with eight apiece. Shimek also tops the conference leaderboard in runs scored (60) and stolen bases (27), and Stines is No. 1 in the NAIA in doubles (30) and No.2 in total bases (133).