ASHLAND, Ore. – A series of shutouts was in the writing for the Corban University Softball team (7-25, 5-15) this week in southern Oregon, as the Warriors fell in sweeping fashion to the No. 5-ranked Southern Oregon University Raiders (24-6, 13-3) by final scores of 7-0 and 13-0, the second of which finished in 5.0 innings.
"The girls played much better today overall," Corban Head Coach Danyelle Huber shared. "We're still striving to get better with each pitch."
Game 3 – SOU 7, Corban 0
Raiders' star catcher Riley Donovan logged yet another RBI on the season to begin game three of the series, singling up the middle to score leadoff hitter and second baseman Deja Acosta standing up. Despite loading the bases in the first inning like in the previous two matchups, Warriors' freshman starting pitcher Vanesa Hulett-Quinones was able to induce back-to-back groundouts to escape with only one run on the board for SOU.
Southern Oregon added another trio of runs in the top of the second frame via an RBI single, groundout by Donovan that scored a runner, and an RBI double by starting pitcher Cayla Williams that led to a 4-0 advantage through one and a half innings played.
The Warriors finally threatened in the bottom of the third with the bases loaded that was kicked off with their first hit of the day, as sophomore third baseman Cambria Kerze slashed as single through the right side of the infield and advanced all the way to third base on an error by the right fielder. However, Williams was able to secure a strikeout and groundout to get through the first Corban threat unblemished and keep their lead at four runs.
Another unearned run crossed the plate in the top of the fourth for the Raiders, as a fielding error allowed the batter to reach safely and a run to score and make the deficit five runs for Corban. The Warriors found multiple runners on base once again in the bottom half of their fourth inning, but stranded them to keep the game locked at 5-0 in favor of SOU.
Two more runs came in to score for Southern Oregon in the top of the fifth, as the Navy and Gold held the go-ahead runner at third base to enter the bottom of the fifth with a 7-0 deficit. For the third-straight inning, the Warriors exposed the SOU defense with runners in scoring position but left them stranded for the third-straight frame as well to keep the Warriors scoreless through five innings played.
Williams was able to secure her second shutout of Corban two innings later in a full 7.0 innings pitched, closing out a 7-0 victory by allowing three hits, three walks and striking out six batters.
Hulett-Quinones struggled to keep the Raiders off the basepaths in a complete game effort, allowing five earned runs off 11 hits, striking out three hitters and walking four more.
Kerze, junior second baseman Samantha Martinez, and graduate student right fielder Madison Wyllie each tallied solo hits in game three of the series against Williams to lead the Corban offense.
Acosta, Williams, and left fielder Faith Moultrie each found their way on base with two hits apiece, while Acosta and Moultrie each scored two runs. Donovan led the RBI total with two during the contest.
Game 4 – SOU 13, Corban 0 (5 Innings)
After a scoreless first inning for both squads in the final non-conference game of the series, SOU struck in the top of the second with an RBI single by right fielder Lindsey Stripling that gave them their fourth-straight opening run.
It wasn't until the top of the fifth inning that the Raiders found the scoreboard once again, scoring six runs on a leadoff triple, walks, passed balls, wild pitches, and a two-run home run from third baseman Hannah Clavelle to take a 7-0 lead with only one out in the frame. SOU would go on to chase two Corban pitchers from the game and score six more runs to force a run-rule situation that they were able to complete with a brief bottom of the fifth inning.
The Warriors eked out of a no-hitter with two outs in the bottom of the fifth inning, as freshman shortstop Katelyn Willard dropped a perfectly placed bunt to reach base safely and deny Raiders' starting pitcher Katie Machado the no-hit outing. She finished with a win in 5.0 shutout innings pitched, striking out a doubleheader-best eight batters.
Corban junior starting pitcher Alise Olson allowed a first inning run and three shutout innings before eventually allowing six runs on seven hits. Relief pitchers in the form of freshman Amy Jankowski and sophomore Emmaleena Wood allowed another seven runs on five hits, with only three crossing home plate as earned runs.
Raiders' left fielder Kailer Fulton notched a 3-for-4 performance with two runs scored on her own to lead the SOU offense, while four more of her teammates secured at least two hits on the day, including Clavelle who tallied three RBI and a run scored.
Corban will hit the road again next weekend as they'll head north to cross the US/Canadian border for a four-game series with the University of British Columbia (17-9, 10-6), with first pitch of game one scheduled for 1:30pm PDT on Friday, April 6th.
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