No. 1 RAIDER SOFTBALL (0-0)
12 p.m. Friday – at Vanguard (DH) | Stream | G1 Stats | G2 Stats
11 a.m. Saturday – at No. 21 Hope International (DH) | Stream | G1 Stats | G2 Stats
11 a.m. Sunday – at Westcliff (DH) | Stream | G1 Stats | G2 Stats
12 p.m. Monday – at Biola (DH) | Stream | Stats

ASHLAND – Prepping to make a run at a fifth national championship and open a new, fully-fundraised ballpark with the NAIA's No. 1 ranking, momentum remains on the side of Southern Oregon University's powerhouse softball program.

After capturing their fourth World Series title in six years last May, the Raiders graduated three All-Americans and four more lineup regulars who helped them match a team record with 55 wins. Until proven otherwise, they're still the team to beat anyway. Jessica Pistole, a four-time NAIA Coach of the Year, has not missed a national postseason in the last nine of her 10 seasons leading the team and sophomore superstar Ayla Davies, the reigning NAIA Pitcher of the Year, makes them favorites every time she is in the circle, which in 2025 was most of the time.

Pistole reinforced the staff by bringing in the California junior-college Pitcher of the Year, Lexi Ramirez, and her player-development track record bodes well for a group of position players built around four returning starters who combined for a .330 batting average.

In short, the Raiders are as well-positioned as ever for another title defense. Adding to the excitement is the construction of their new home, Laurel Park, which is on track to be completed in time for their first series in Ashland. The 500-seat revamp of the former University Field – featuring an elevated, wrap-around grandstand and press box, a state-of-the-art video board and new dugouts – will be unveiled Feb. 27 and have its grand-opening ceremony at 10 a.m. on Feb. 28 as SOU hosts No. 3-ranked Eastern Oregon.

"We're going to look super different, but this is always an exciting phase," said Pistole, who enters the spring with a 469-138 record and seven World Series appearances at SOU. "We're ready to play, get some feedback, figure out where we're going to take our hits and adjust."

PRESEASON POLLS: The Raiders were the unanimous No. 1 team in November's NAIA Top 25 preseason coaches' poll. It marked the ninth consecutive preseason poll that had the Raiders among the top-10 and was the eighth of those in which they've held a top-five post. They were also the favorites in the Cascade Conference poll, followed by Oregon Tech, last year's co-champion with SOU, and Eastern Oregon, last year's tournament champion. EOU will start the season ranked No. 3 nationally, and OIT will open at No. 10. Two more CCC squads, College of Idaho and British Columbia, received Top 25 votes.

Of note: the CCC softball circuit now comprises nine teams, down from 10 the last couple years. It lost Montana schools Carroll and Providence to the new-look Frontier Conference and plucked Simpson (Calif.) from the California Pacific Conference.

FIRST UP: Starting on Friday, the Raiders will visit four California schools in as many days for doubleheaders: NCAA Division II squad Vanguard, No. 21 Hope International, Westcliff, and another NCAA D2 outfit (as well as Pistole's alma mater), Biola. The highlight of SOU's early slate is a return to Oklahoma for the NAIASB Invitational, a six-game trip that the Raiders will bookend with doubleheaders at No. 2 Oklahoma City and No. 9 Science & Arts (Okla.). In total, they'll play eight of their non-conference games against Top 25 teams.

LAST YEAR: The Raiders went 55-9 overall in 2025 and shared their first CCC regular-season title in four years at 23-4. They also completed an historic run to the NAIA championship: After dropping their World Series opener, they became the first team ever to win seven consecutive elimination games and ended the uphill trek by taking back-to-back from Oklahoma City. Davies was named the World Series MVP – she pitched all 80 national tournament innings with a 1.40 ERA – and was joined on the NAIA All-America team by senior outfielders Kailer Fulton and Sarah Kerling.

POSITION BY POSITION
PITCHERS: Of the many absurd numbers Ayla Davies produced during an unprecedented freshman campaign, one is perhaps most illustrative of how much work it takes to beat her: She went 38-5 with a 1.20 ERA, and four of those losses were extra-innings games in which she went the distance. Among all pitchers in NAIA history, she recorded the fourth-most shutouts (19), seventh-most wins, 10th-most complete games (36) and 11th-most innings (297) in a single season – doing so with 312 strikeouts, an eye-popping 7.4-to-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio and a .188 opponents' batting average. Her durability never wavered as she blanked four opponents on the World Series stage, but the Raiders are hoping to lean on her a little less during her sophomore season.

Lexi Ramirez – who went 30-9 with a 1.43 ERA over 235 2/3 innings at El Camino C.C. (Calif.) – is one key to making that happen. Senior returner Tatiana Blas (3.75 ERA, 9 1/3 IP) is another, and Pistole also believes she'll get immediate innings out of freshmen Thomara Drummer and Carlee Strand. Drummer was 13-0 with a 1.53 ERA and 297 strikeouts in 156 innings as a senior at San Rafael High (Calif.), while Strand was prolific at the plate and amassed 432 strikeouts with a 1.94 ERA during her career at La Grande High.

"Ayla is obviously at the top of the pack, but they're going to work as a complete pitching staff and their approaches complement each other pretty well," Pistole said. "All five will get to contribute, we'll just see what kind of roles they have as we go along."

CATCHERS: An injury propped up Kierstin Grotewiel to the top of SOU's catching depth chart midway through last season, and she held onto the job with dependable play behind the plate and with the bat. A career .290 hitter, the junior came through with two game-winning hits during national tournament play and is the incumbent with utility player Michelle Hara backing up. In addition to their good work with Davies, SOU's catchers last year surrendered just one-fifth as many stolen bases (32) and passed balls (3) as their opponents.

"They're both really good with our pitchers and just focused on receiving," Pistole said. "They've proven that they'll do whatever is asked of them."

INFIELDERS: One of SOU's biggest losses was that of four-year starting shortstop and gold-glover Sammie Pemberton, but the Raiders still have plenty on hand to field another elite infield defense. All-CCC honorable mention recipient Vanessa Lang (.326, 39 runs, 19-19 SB-ATT) – a slick-fielding senior who hit the decisive home run in last year's title clincher – is back at second base, and junior Brooke Nordahl (.362, 15 XBH), a World Series all-tournament performer, will reassume her duties at third. Avery Coffin, who spent most of her freshman season backing up at third, has made the move to shortstop. At first base, the Raiders will feature a pair of newcomers: the aforementioned Ramirez, who was a .321 hitter last season, and San Mateo C.C. (Calif.) transfer CiCi Kim (.325, 12 XBH).

Sophomore Aubree Muxen (.421, 8-for-19) is another capable first baseman who will get regular at-bats regardless of if she is in the field. The Raiders also have their freshman pitchers, Drummer and Strand, backing up on the corners. Two returning players, redshirt-freshman Elysia Duarte and senior Gabby Heiken, are working at the middle-infield positions.

"Avery is stepping into a big role, but she's a competitor with a really smooth glove and there is a lot of experience around her," Pistole said. "Our infield defense has been a strength and we expect that to be the case again."

OUTFIELDERS: The biggest shakeup relative to 2025 is in the outfield, where senior Ari Williams will take the reins at center field in place of four-year starter Sarah Kerling. Williams has a big middle-of-the-lineup bat – she hit .336 and ranked third in the conference with 42 RBIs in her first season at SOU – and she'll be surrounded by speed with Duarte, Hara and redshirt-freshman Kalea Thomas primarily on the corners. Gia Almont, a prominent pinch-runner for the last year's Raiders, provides depth along with freshman Brianna McCoy and sophomore Glory Pistole. Like Muxen, Pistole will also be utilized often as a pinch-hitter and designated player.