BRACKET | TOURNAMENT CENTRAL
COLUMBUS, Ga. – Southern Oregon has done enough winning at the South Commons Complex in recent years to make one forget that days like Monday are even possible.
They are, as the No. 3-seeded Raiders were reminded with back-to-back losses that ended their national title defense and season at the NAIA Softball World Series. A handful of disagreeable hours with the bats was all it took as they fell 5-2 to No. 2 seed Southeastern (Fla.) in the afternoon and 3-1 to No. 8 seed Indiana Wesleyan deep into the muggy Southern night.
The Raiders – who brought a 16-game winning streak into the day and had sustained it with an average of nearly eight runs – finished with a 45-15 record. The loss to Southeastern meant they would have needed five consecutive elimination-game victories to capture their fifth title.
But their luck never turned against IWU (43-14), whose sophomore lefty Avery Toole followed up an eight-inning shutout of British Columbia with a complete game six-hitter against SOU. The only run she allowed was unearned in the fourth after the Raiders strung together a seeing-eye single, an error, a bunt single and
Kalea Thomas' infield single to bring home pinch-runner
Brianna McCoy.
The Raiders left the bases loaded that inning and runners in scoring position in three others. They had runners at second and third after
Ari Williams' double in the first and the potential tying run at the plate after
Vanessa Lang's triple in the seventh.
Toole used seven strikeouts to neutralize three Wildcats errors.
SOU sophomore
Ayla Davies, last year's World Series MVP, was the victim in the circle. She gave up just five hits while going the distance against IWU after three of the four runs charged to her against Southeastern were unearned.
IWU went up 2-0 in the third, when a walk and a bunt single led to Morgan Yeater's sacrifice fly and Maddie Martin's RBI double. The Wildcats played small-ball again in the seventh and collected an insurance run with Sara Ruble's two-out hit.
Since head coach
Jessica Pistole took the Raiders to their first Opening Round in 2016, they've played 81 national tournament games. Before Monday, they'd never lost two in a row in the same year. They'd won 15 of their previous 16 World Series elimination games since 2019, the program's first of four championship seasons.
IWU is one of five teams left standing in the tournament. Southeastern and top-seeded Madonna (Mich.) are the bracket's remaining unbeatens.
The Raiders have still never won a title in an even-numbered year. They'll have to keep their odd-year streak alive in 2027 without the services of five seniors: Lang, Williams,
Tatiana Blas,
Michelle Hara and
Gabby Heiken. Heiken departs as a two-time national champion, while the other four were part of last year's run.
