FULLERTON, Calif. – Ayla Davies twirled the 20th shutout of her young career as top-ranked Southern Oregon won 3-0 in Game 1 before No. 21 Hope International (Calif.) rallied for a 5-3 Game 2 victory on Saturday afternoon at Bastanchury Park.

Davies, the sophomore right-hander from Burns, struck out four and walked one in a three-hitter for the Raiders (3-1 overall), needing just 77 pitches to improve to 2-0. Junior third baseman Brooke Nordahl gave her a lead with a run-scoring single in the third and completed her 3-for-4 performance with an RBI double in the seventh.

Vanessa Lang added a two-out RBI single in the seventh and went 2-for-4 with a run scored. Ari Williams had three of the Raiders' 10 hits.

The Royals (6-2) – led by first-year head coach Gabby Sandoval, a two-time national champion and former All-America pitcher for the Raiders – salvaged the split by erasing a three-run deficit in Game 2.

CiCi Kim put the Raiders in front when she was plunked with the bases loaded in the first inning, then delivered an RBI single in the third moments before Avery Coffin made it 3-0 on a first-and-third steal play.

HIU's Breanna Lucero tied it up with a three-run home run in the bottom of the fourth. The score stayed even until the sixth, when Emma McCraw unloaded for a solo blast. Lucero tacked on later in the frame with her second RBI hit.

Royals pitcher Kaitlyn Maaske earned the complete-game victory, working around eight hits and four free passes with five strikeouts. The Raiders left 10 runners on base, getting two hits apiece from Kim and Avery Coffin.

SOU is in action again with an 11 a.m. doubleheader Sunday at Westcliff (Calif.) and completes the trip Monday at Biola (Calif.).