1 p.m. / 3 p.m. Friday – Bushnell at SOU
11 a.m. / 1 p.m. Saturday – Bushnell at SOU
Live Streams | Live Stats G1 / G2 / G3 / G4

ASHLAND – The Southern Oregon softball team is still waiting on its lineup, virtually identical to the one that led the NAIA in runs scored last season, to come around after a few up-and-down weeks of nonleague action. The Cascade Conference opening weekend would be a good time for it.

The Raiders (5-3 overall) begin their journey through the circuit with a four-game series against Bushnell (3-7) at University Field. Friday's doubleheader starts at 1 p.m., Saturday's at 11 a.m., and all games except the last of the set will be CCC counters.

PRESEASON POLLS: The Raiders were No. 10 in the NAIA Top 25 preseason poll after ending last season at No. 12. They were picked to finish second in the NAIA's only conference with four top-20 teams – No. 7 Oregon Tech, No. 13 College of Idaho and No. 19 Eastern Oregon being the others. C of I is off to the best start of the bunch at 10-0, while OIT (the CCC's defending champion and preseason favorite) and EOU are both 7-3. The first Top 25 poll of the regular season is scheduled for a March 8 release. Bushnell, which last year went 15-33 overall and 11-19 in conference play, was picked to finish eighth in the CCC.

SOU CONFERENCE HISTORY: Under head coach Jessica Pistole, the Raiders have won four of the last six CCC regular season titles; prior to that stretch, they hadn't captured one six 2005. They tied for second place at 24-6 in 2022, landing one game out of first. Dating back to 2018, they've won 30 of their last 33 CCC series overall and 16 in a row played at home.

BRIEFLY:

• In last week's split at Simpson, senior catcher Riley Donovan became the first player in SOU history to reach 30 career home runs. The reigning NAIA Player of the Year has accounted for two of SOU's three homers this season after hitting an SOU-record 20 last year. She's batting .409 with team-highs in on-base percentage (.567) and slugging percentage (.682) among players with at least 20 at-bats.
• After going down with an injury early last season, Lauren Weinberg has been a welcome addition back to the lineup. The senior third baseman is 9-for-20 with two doubles at the plate, and her career batting average is up to .363.
• As a team, the Raiders are batting .306 with a .384 on-base percentage and a .412 slugging percentage. Last year they posted a slash line of .380/.448/.596, but the bats heated up with the temperature: In conference play, they were at .408/.470/.662.
• Pitcher Katie Machado had her best weekend of the season at Simpson, allowing one earned run in 5 2/3 innings over two appearances. She's at 3-1 with a 3.20 ERA, and Cayla Williams is at 2-1 with a 3.08 ERA. Williams has already tossed three complete games, surrendering just two earned runs in each.

ABOUT BUSHNELL: The Beacons picked up two quality wins in nonleague play with splits at Simpson (Calif.) and No. 21 William Jessup (Calif.). Madison Steelman (.387, 7 XBH, 10 RBIs) and Hannah Tennant (.370, 4 XBH, 8 RBIs) have been bright spots for a lineup hitting .246 collectively, and Krystal Akagi is off to a slow start but earned All-CCC honorable mention last year with a .321 average. Sam Silver (1-3, 2.85 ERA) is their ace in the circle for the second year in a row and has already thrown five complete games. Head-to-head against SOU, the Beacons have lost 18 consecutive games dating back to 2017.