SOU starts UBC series with 2 wins

Southern Oregon pitchers Cayla Williams and Katie Machado stymied British Columbia and Piper Love hit her first home run of the season in the No. 5 Raiders’ 6-1, 9-0 sweep Friday at Collings Field.

Williams scattered six singles and struck out six without surrendering an earned run in her series-opening complete game, improving to 9-2. Machado went all five innings in a mercy-rule-shortened Game 2, working around four singles and two walks to pitch her third consecutive shutout, win her seventh consecutive decision and improve to 9-1.

Riley Donovan totaled five RBIs on the day and Love had four for the Raiders, who went to 20-4 overall and 10-1 in the Cascade Conference with their 14th and 15th victories in their last 16 games. The Thunderbirds fell to 13-9 and 7-6.

Donovan went 2-for-4 in the opener, driving in the go-ahead run in the third inning, while Deja Acosta and Kailer Fulton scored two runs and had an RBI apiece. Donovan broke the game open with a two-run single in the fifth that plated them both to put SOU up 5-0.

The Raiders and Thunderbirds were scoreless until the fourth inning of Game 2, where Lauren Weinberg broke up Shae Sever’s shutout with an RBI single and love followed two batters later with a three-run home run.

Donovan and Love both ripped RBI doubles during SOU’s five-run fifth inning. Donovan had two in the game.

Machado dropped her ERA for the 10th appearance in a row, this time to 1.61. The junior right-hander has pitched 18 straight scoreless frames and allowed four earned runs over her last 39 innings of work.

SOU and UBC play another doubleheader starting at 11 a.m. Saturday.

Content used with permission, compliments of SOU Sports
Photo by Al Case, Ashland Daily Photo.