Lauren Keel pitched five scoreless innings to give SOU its first win of the season.
Raiders Split In Day One of SOU Invite
The Southern Oregon softball team went 1-1 during the opening day of the SOU Invitational today at US Cellular Community Park in Medford.
Southern Oregon defeated Holy Names 1-0 in the opener and then fell to Hope International 9-4 in the nightcap.
The Raiders take on Azusa Pacific at 11 a.m. tomorrow and 11th-ranked Concordia-Irvine at 1 p.m. Friday. The tournament wraps up Saturday.
In a game that featured a pair of teams that received votes in the Preseason NAIA Poll, the Raiders were able to battle for the victory despite losing ace Jordyn Kurtz in the bottom of the second inning to an injury occurred while running the bases.
With the score still scoreless, freshman Lauren Keel entered the game in relief and blanked the Hawks for the final five innings.
In the fifth inning, the SOU offense finally pushed across a run.
Junior catcher Emily Matekel started the rally with a walk and was replaced on the bases by pinch-runner Danielle Batson. A single by Kathryn Moy pushed Batson third and a single by Rayna Strom-Okimoto gave the Raiders a 1-0 lead and the lead held for the remainder of the game.
Strom-Okimoto and Sarah Wharton each had two hits for the Raiders in the opener.
Keel scattered five hits to pick up the victory for the Raiders.
In the second game, Hope International jumped out to a 3-0 lead after three innings on the way to a 9-4 victory that featured three SOU errors and 10 runners left on base by the Raiders.
Justine Fulton led the SOU attack in the second game with three hits. Moy and Strom-Okimoto both had two hits.
In other games Thursday at the SOU Invitational:
4 p.m. Games
SOU 1, Holy Names 0
Northwest Christian 2, Concordia-Irvine 0
Hope International 2, William Jessup 0
Biola 4, OIT 2
6 p.m. Games
Hope International 9, SOU 4
Simpson 2, Azusa Pacific 1
Concordia-Irvine 5, Oregon Tech 4
Concorida (Ore.) 2, William Jessup 1
Biola 6, Northwest Christian 3