No. 1 RAIDER SOFTBALL (21-1, 6-0 CCC)
2 p.m. / 4 p.m. Friday – vs. Providence (6-9, 3-6)
11 a.m. / 1 p.m. Saturday – vs. Providence
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ASHLAND – The top-ranked Southern Oregon softball team returns to the diamond after a week off for a Cascade Conference series against Providence (Mont.) this weekend at University Field.

The Raiders (21-1 overall, 6-0 CCC) and Argos (6-9, 3-6) start doubleheaders at 2 p.m. Friday and 11 a.m. Saturday. It's the beginning of a stretch in which SOU, which has won 26 consecutive CCC home series, plays 12 of its next 16 games in Ashland. The Raiders have defeated Providence in 32 consecutive matchups over the last eight years.

NAIA TOP 25: The Raiders – who are the only team in the country without multiple losses – remained at No. 1 in Wednesday's new NAIA Top 25 poll, collecting 17 of 18 first-place votes. (Curiously, Science & Arts, which is 17-4 and lost to SOU last month, received the other.) This is the fourth season out of the last seven that the Raiders have held the top spot at some point. As has been the case the last few years, the CCC continues to be the most well-represented conference in the poll. Oregon Tech stayed at No. 2, Eastern Oregon moved up one spot to No. 13, and College of Idaho climbed four spots to No. 20.

SOU-OIT ON DECK: The highly-anticipated series between No. 1 SOU and No. 2 OIT was originally scheduled for last week but postponed due to rain. The teams will now play a split series in Ashland – two games starting at 2 p.m. on March 26, and two more starting at 2 p.m. on April 2.

SHORT HOPS:

• SOU's last outing was a sweep at Carroll (Mont.), where the Raiders outscored the Saints 26-1 and got through a four-game series against a conference opponent without allowing an earned run for the first time ever. Carroll was coming off a 32-run series against College of Idaho.
• Freshman pitcher Ayla Davies enters the weekend at 13-1 with four saves, a 0.73 ERA, 105 strikeouts in 86 innings, and a 7.5-to-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio. No other CCC pitcher owns more than six wins or 65 strikeouts. Davies hasn't surrendered an earned run in nine of her 13 starts.
• The Raiders have also gotten stellar contributions in the circle as of late from Mayze Menefee (4-0, 2.66 ERA) and Kennedy Kila (2-0, 1.70 ERA). Their team ERA of 1.95 is the 27th-best in the NAIA.
• The first three batters in SOU's lineup – Vanessa Lang (.412), Kailer Fulton (.478) and Faith Moultrie (.464) – have been on-base machines. Lang has reached safely in 20 of 21 games, Fulton in 20 of 22, and Moultrie in 17 of 19. They've combined to score 61 runs and steal 31 bases on 34 attempts.
• Moultrie leads the Raiders with a .526 average in conference play and Sarah Kerling, at the bottom of the lineup, is at .500. Kerling ranks second on the team with 29 total hits.
• Piper Love and Ari Williams are first and second on the CCC's RBI leaderboard with 22 and 18, respectively. Love drove in the 100th run of her career at Carroll, becoming the 10th player in team history to reach that number.
• The Raiders hit the 20-win mark as fast as any team in program history. The team's best-ever start was 25-1 in 2021. A sweep this weekend would match that.

ABOUT PROVIDENCE:

• The Argos snapped a six-game losing streak with a 5-4 victory last Saturday at Warner Pacific. They were picked to finish ninth in the CCC preseason poll; they got their only series win against last-place Corban.
• They're batting .307 as a team, but their pitching staff is giving up a .323 average. Five regulars are at .333 or better, led by Brynn Cullen (.433, 8 2B).
• Providence is vulnerable defensively, having committed 28 errors and surrendered 29 unearned runs. SOU has allowed just six unearned runs.
• Their leader in the circle, Ashley Mitchell (3-4, 5.92 ERA), has thrown four complete games.
• The Raiders outscored the Argos 48-11 combined in last year's matchups.