ASHLAND – Head coach
Jessica Pistole's Southern Oregon win total reached 500 on Friday afternoon as the No. 6-ranked Raiders pocketed a much-needed doubleheader sweep of Simpson (Calif.), 2-1 and 8-5 in Cascade Conference play at Laurel Park.
Pistole, a four-time NAIA Coach of the Year in her 11th season at SOU, needed only 655 games to hit the milestone. Her winning percentage with the Raiders (.763) is the second-best among active 500-game winners in the NAIA, and including five seasons at other schools, she's up to 622 total career victories.
Her Raiders improved to 31-13 overall and 12-8 in the CCC, remaining tied for third place with British Columbia.
Ayla Davies navigated them through the opener with a three-hit complete game in a pitchers' duel with Jacquelyn Lujan. Simpson cleanup hitter Grace Chojnacki's solo home run accounted for all the offense until the bottom of the fifth, when
Vanessa Lang's bases-loaded single tied the score. A batter later, CiCi Kim came home as the go-ahead run on a throwing error by Olivia Bicondova after she caught a popup for the second out in right field.
Davies struck out eight and didn't issue a walk in her 15th win.
Kalea Thomas had two of SOU's six hits.
Game 2 was tied 4-4 before the Raiders broke out for four runs in the fourth inning.
Ari Williams had the go-ahead hit,
Lexi Ramirez laid down a perfect squeeze bunt,
Avery Coffin hit a sacrifice fly, and
Thomara Drummer topped off the rally with an RBI triple.
Coffin went 2-for-3 with three RBIs in the contest. Drummer, Thomas, Williams and
Vanessa Lang joined her with two hits apiece.
Brooke Nordahl reached three times as the Raiders threatened to do more damage but left 12 runners on base.
Lexi Ramirez earned the Game 2 victory, allowing three runs in 4 2/3 innings over two separate stints. Davies earned the save with the potential tying run at the plate in the seventh.
The Red Hawks (15-26, 9-11) slugged four home runs on the day, each of them of the solo variety. Brianna Lopez-Cortez hit a pair and Kassandra Soria had the other in Game 2.
The teams will play another doubleheader, SOU's last at home of the regular season, starting at 11 a.m. Saturday.
