ASHLAND –
Kalea Thomas led a hit parade from the top of Southern Oregon's lineup as the No. 3-ranked Raiders took two from Bushnell, 14-0 and 9-1 in five innings apiece, on Friday afternoon at Laurel Park.
Thomas, a redshirt-freshman right fielder, went 6-for-6 with five runs scored and an RBI, helping the Raiders bat .460 as a team (23-for-50) during the doubleheader. They extended their season-best winning streak to seven games, improving to 27-9 overall and 9-5 in the Cascade Conference.
While the lineup did its job, SOU's pitching staff didn't surrender an earned run.
Ayla Davies allowed four hits and struck out nine over four scoreless innings in Game 1, giving way to
Tatiana Blas for a perfect fifth.
Lexi Ramirez tossed a one-hitter in Game 2 and recorded six strikeouts.
In the opener, the Raiders had a 3-0 lead with two out and nobody on in the bottom of the fourth until their next 12 batters reached base. They at one point strung together eight consecutive hits, a streak punctuated by
Glory Pistole's RBI double and
Kierstin Grotewiel's towering two-run home run to the opposite field.
Brooke Nordahl hit a two-run single,
Ari Williams smoked a two-run double, and they got additional RBI hits from
Avery Coffin,
Gabby Heiken and
Vanessa Lang in the frame.
Two batters into Game 2, Lang lined an RBI triple. Williams followed with a run-scoring single two batters later, and in the second inning the Raiders went up 5-0 with a trio of unearned runs.
Lang finished 4-for-7 with four runs and four RBIs on the day. Nordahl and Williams both doubled and drove in four.
In the circle, Davies improved to 13-5 and eclipsed the 100-strikeout mark on the season. Ramirez won for the seventh time in eight starts and went to 11-3.
The Raiders and Beacons play two more starting at 11 a.m. Saturday.