MEDFORD – Two Southern Oregon freshmen stepped up in support of back-to-back stingy pitching performances, lifting the No. 10-ranked Raiders to 5-2 and 7-0 wins against British Columbia on Saturday at Lithia & Driveway Fields.
Freshman
Emma Stang, in just her fifth at-bat of the season, led off the fifth inning of a tied Game 1 with a double down the first-base line that led to
Jordan Henderson's go-ahead sacrifice fly as the Raiders took the rubber match of three-game Cascade Conference portion of the series. Another freshman,
Brooke Nordahl, tacked on insurance with a two-out RBI single in the sixth.
Nordahl was also responsible for a handful of defensive highlights at second base. She helped the Raiders (31-10 overall, 17-4 CCC) limit UBC (18-19, 10-10) to one earned run on the day despite their pitching staff recording only two strikeouts. Stang went on to contribute another run-scoring hit in Game 2.
Katie Machado pitched her 12th consecutive complete game in the opener while scattering six singles and improving to 17-3. She trailed 2-0 when she escaped a first-and-second, no-out jam in the third inning, and the Raiders tied the score in the fourth on
Hailey Seva's successful squeeze bunt and a wild pitch that enabled her to cross the plate.
Mayze Menefee pitched six shutout innings and limited the Thunderbirds to five singles in Game 2, bringing her record to 11-4.
Katie Fodge tossed a perfect seventh.
Jordan Henderson hit her team-leading sixth home run in the finale to dead-center field.
Kennedy Kila went 2-for-2 with an RBI and a run scored.
Sammie Pemberton doubled and drove in two runs.
The Raiders enter their last two CCC series one game in the loss column behind a trio of three-loss teams: Eastern Oregon (18-3), Oregon Tech (18-3) and College of Idaho (16-3). They visit C of I next week before closing the regular season at home against EOU on April 26-27.
