ASHLAND – Bushnell ended its head-to-head losing streak against Southern Oregon at 29 games, but not before the No. 10-ranked Raiders finished off a three-game sweep of the Cascade Conference portion of their series Friday afternoon at University Field.
Piper Love homered twice and
Kennedy Kila went 4-for-4 in SOU's 9-2 Game 1 victory, which
Katie Machado handled with another complete game. In the non-conference series finale, pitcher Emily Cole kept the Raiders at bay and the Beacons took advantage of a costly error to win 4-3 despite recording only two hits.
The Raiders upped their CCC record to 12-3, staying at fourth place in the standings. Their overall record went to 24-9. The Beacons (7-24 overall, 1-14 CCC) had lost 17 in a row before stealing Game 2.
Love's home runs, both solo shots, were her third and fourth of the season; the junior catcher had never before hit two in the same game. Kila's perfect outing at the plate included an RBI double and a two-run single, while
Hannah Clavelle went 3-for-4 with a double and
Hailey Seva lined a single that plated two.
Machado was dominant for the second day in a row, retiring the first nine batters she faced before surrendering an infield single in the fourth. She struck out nine without issuing a walk while improving to 13-3, and only one of the two runs she allowed was earned.
Cole delivered Bushnell's best performance of the series in Game 2, a complete game in which she scattered six hits and limited SOU to two earned runs. The Beacons took their first lead of the series in the third inning, where Ericka Allen's two-run double made it 2-1. Later, with two outs in the frame, a misplayed grounder to second enabled two more to score.
SOU cut into the three-run deficit in the sixth, which Seva led off with a home run. Kila followed that blast with a double, and her pinch-runner,
Kami Klapp, later came home on a throwing error. Still clinging to a one-run edge in the seventh, however, Cole dismissed the heart of the Raider lineup in order.
Mayze Menefee pitched the final 4 1/3 innings in relief for the Raiders and allowed neither a hit nor a base on balls.
Katie Fodge, who struck out four in her 2 2/3 innings, took the loss.
The Raiders visit last-place Corban for a four-game series next week in Salem. They return home April 12-13 to face fifth-place British Columbia.
