Deja Acosta and Cayla Williams enjoyed four-hit afternoons as No. 10 Southern Oregon completed a four-game sweep of Bushnell, winning 12-4 and 11-2 in five innings each Saturday at University Field.
Acosta, who went 8-for-14 with six RBIs and five runs scored during the Cascade Conference-opening set, was 3-for-4 with two RBIs in Game 1, while Williams hit a double and a pair of RBI singles. Hannah Clavelle and Ashton Cathey both launched two-run home runs in Game 2, which was a nonleague affair.
The Raiders (9-3 overall, 3-0 CCC) outscored Bushnell (3-11, 0-3) 39-7 over the series, triggering the eight-run rule in thee of the contests. They extended their head-to-head winning streak against the Beacons to 22 games dating back to 2017.
Williams bumped her record to 4-1 with her fifth complete game of the season in Game 1. She settled down after hitting two batters and walking another during the Beacons’ three-run first inning, allowing just two earned runs and closing the matchup with three scoreless frames.
SOU turned the game around with a seven-run third, during which Riley Donovan stroked a two-run single and Lindsey Stripling and Sarah Kerling chimed in with RBI triples. Kerling and Lauren Weinberg had two hits, two runs scored and an RBI apiece.
Mayze Menefee earned her second decision in as many days by getting the Raiders through four innings in Game 2. Williams’ RBI triple and Clavelle’s second homer of the season, a two-run shot to the opposite field followed shortly thereafter by Rylan Austin’s run-scoring double, put her in the driver’s seat.
Faith Moultrie reached base in all four of her plate appearances with two hits and two walks. Cathey’s opposite-field blast ended the game in the bottom of the fifth.
The Raiders totaled 24 hits with nine going for extra bases on the day.
They’ll be on the road next weekend, paying a visit to No. 19-ranked Eastern Oregon for a four-game series in La Grande.
Content used with permission, compliments of SOU Sports
Photo by Al Case, Ashland Daily Photo