ASHLAND –
Cayla Williams and
Riley Donovan provided the No. 4 Southern Oregon softball team's senior day festivities with a perfect start and a loud finish Saturday afternoon at University Field.
Williams, a senior pitcher and first baseman, twirled the second perfect game for any Raider since the program's 2001 revival in Game 1, needing just 41 pitches in SOU's 10-0, five-inning Cascade Conference victory. Donovan, a senior catcher, belted two home runs in Game 2, including a three-run shot to the opposite field off the bottom of the scoreboard that allowed the Raiders to walk off in the bottom of the fifth with a 13-3 non-conference victory.
The four-game series sweep made the Raiders 39-9 overall and 24-5 in the CCC entering Sunday's 11 a.m. regular-season finale against British Columbia – a game they need to win to secure the No. 2 seed for next week's CCC Tournament. It also eliminated the Eagles (21-28, 12-18) from postseason contention.
Williams, who improved to 17-5 in the circle, was coming off two of her roughest outings of the season and a hand injury that forced her to depart midway through Game 2 on Friday. She responded by attacking the zone, throwing strikes on 34 of 41 pitches, and induced nine groundouts while striking out three.
SOU's lineup kept her in control with a five-run first inning, where the first four Raiders up to bat singled.
Kailer Fulton, Williams,
Ashton Cathey and
Deja Acosta drove in runs successively, and Williams later hit and RBI double as part of a 4-for-5 day at the plate. Cathey went 2-for-3 with a double and four RBIs in the contest.
Donovan's home runs in Game 2 were her NAIA-leading 17th and 18th of the season, giving her 10 this month. She was 5-for-7 with five RBIs and four runs scored in the doubleheader.
Lauren Weinberg contributed a two-run double,
Deja Acosta had two hits, two runs scored and two RBIs, and
Rylan Austin went 3-for-3 with two runs and two RBIs in the finale.
Hannah Stark got her first start of the season and recorded four outs, and
Katie Machado worked the final 3 2/3 innings while striking out five. She left the potential tying runs stranded in scoring position with back-to-back strikeouts in the top of the fifth, and SOU exploded for eight runs in the bottom half. The win made her 16-2.
