Cascade Conference Softball | Laurel Park | Ashland, Ore.
No. 3 EASTERN OREGON (9-1) at No. 1 SOU (14-4)
1 p.m. / 3 p.m. Friday | 11 a.m. / 1 p.m. Saturday
Tickets | Live Streams | Live Stats: G1 / G2 / G3 / G4

ASHLAND – The grand opening of Laurel Park, the opening weekend of Cascade Conference play, and a four-game series with immediate title implications all overlap this weekend as the defending-champion Southern Oregon softball team makes its home debut.

The top-ranked Raiders (14-4 overall) host No. 3 Eastern Oregon (9-1) for the teams' first matchups since last year's NAIA World Series semifinals. They were separated by one game in the 2025 standings as SOU shared a CCC co-championship with Oregon Tech, and they entered this season as the conference's two highest-ranked squads.

The budding rivalry renews with doubleheaders scheduled to start at 1 p.m. Friday and 11 a.m. Saturday, while the Laurel Park grand-opening ceremony is set for 10 a.m. Saturday. SOU's new home venue – which is on the same site as the old University Field – was recently completed after being 100% fundraised. It seats over 500 fans and features an elevated, wrap-around grandstand and press box, a state-of-the-art video board, and new dugouts and bullpens.

DAVIES, LANG GET CONFERENCE KUDOS: Following a 6-2 stay in Oklahoma, SOU's Ayla Davies was voted the pitcher of the week and Vanessa Lang the player of the week in the CCC. Davies went 4-1 with a 2.51 ERA and a pair of shutouts over 30 2/3 innings on the trip, and she opened the Raiders' perfect four-game stint at the NAIA SB Invitational by coming one out away from a perfect game against Benedictine. Lang went 12-for-28 with three doubles and ended the week on a seven-game hitting streak. The second baseman had five multi-hit games, drove in seven runs and scored five.

IN THE RANKINGS: The first NAIA Top 25 of the regular season will be released next Wednesday. Depending on what happens this weekend, the Raiders have positioned themselves to keep the No. 1 spot by already compiling five Top 25 wins and a 6-1 record against NCAA Division II competition. They were the preseason pick to win the CCC, and EOU was third in that poll behind Oregon Tech.

SHORT HOPS:

• Vanessa Lang, an All-CCC honorable mention recipient last season, owns a team-best .415 batting average and has raised her career clip to .350. She has hit safely in 16 of 18 games and is perfect on five stolen-base attempts.
• Behind Ayla Davies – who posted the seventh-most wins in NAIA single-season history last year at 38-5 and already owns more this season (8-2) than anyone in the country – the Raiders appear to have a bona fide No. 2 starter in Lexi Ramirez. After earning Cal-JC Pitcher of the Year honors in 2025 at El Camino C.C. (Calif.), Ramirez is off to a 4-1 start with a 2.12 ERA at SOU and has tossed three complete-game gems. Tatiana Blas is also off to a strong start, having yet to allow an earned run in nine innings.
• The Raiders are getting their power from junior infielder Brooke Nordahl (.365, 6 XBH, 14 RBIs) and redshirt-freshman outfielder Elysia Duarte (.341, 2 HR, 4 2B). Another newcomer, CiCi Kim, has a team-high 16 RBIs in 16 games played.
• SOU's defense is outperforming opponents again. The Raiders have scored 27 unearned runs and surrendered just 14.
• The Raiders have won 30 of their last 31 CCC series at home. They went 22-3 in Ashland last season.
• Head coach Jessica Pistole is 17 wins away from her 500th at SOU.

ABOUT EOU:

• The Mountaineers have qualified for the national tournament three of the last four series, and last year's World Series appearance was their first since 2000.
• Their lineup is batting .350 and averaging 8.5 runs through 10 games; they've yet to score fewer than four in a contest. They have returning All-CCC selections in infielders Emily Barry (.385) and Raygun (.300, 8-9 SB), and impactful newcomers in transfers Lexi Grumbois (.462, 11 RBI, 8-8 SB) and Allison Baumgart (.500, 3 XBH).
• Opponents, on the other hand, are batting just .188 with three extra-base hits against the EOU staff. Maliyah Mann, another transfer, leads the team in innings (25) and is 5-1 with a 2.52 ERA. Natalie Dimitrov is shining in an expanded role with a 0.44 ERA over 16 innings.
• SOU and EOU split six matchups last season and the Mountaineers took two of three in the CCC set, which included a 15-inning affair. The Raiders are 81-39 in the all-time series.