Al Case, Ashland Daily Photo. Donovan, Randall homer as SOU beats Simpson 9-1 in opener 5/14/2018 7:15:00 PM SOU Sports Information *Note: Due to a thunderstorm in the forecast, Tuesday's games times have been moved up 2 hours. Monday's Results Game 1 – (3) Northwestern (Iowa) 4, (2) St. Francis (Ill.) 2 Game 2 – (1) Southern Oregon 9, (4) Simpson (Calif.) 1 Tuesday's Games Game 3, 9 a.m. – Southern Oregon vs. Northwestern Game 4, 11:30 a.m. – St. Francis vs. Simpson (loser eliminated) Game 5, 2 p.m. – G3 Loser vs. G4 Winner (loser eliminated) Wednesday's Games Game 6, 11 a.m. – G3 Winner vs. G5 Winner Game 7, 1:30 p.m. – If necessary MEDFORD – The stage got bigger for No. 8-ranked Southern Oregon on Monday afternoon but little else changed in its first game of the NAIA National Championship Opening Round, a 9-1 romp over Simpson (Calif.) at U.S. Cellular Community Park. The Raiders (45-12 overall), the top-seeded hosts of the four-team, double-elimination Southern Oregon Bracket, had all of their usual staples intact: Harlee Donovan broke the SOU record for home runs in a career with a two-run screamer to left-center in the first inning, Kelsey Randall electrified at shortstop and hit an inside-the-parker during the Raiders' four-run fourth, and Gabby Sandoval went to 23-6 with a six-hit complete game. After leading the Raiders in hits during their Cascade Conference Tournament title run, freshman Hannah Shimek shined again, too, with four of the team's 17 hits. She also doubled, as did Rebecca Velasquez, who went 3-for-5. SOU will play at 9 a.m. Tuesday against Northwestern College (Iowa) (36-11), which was a 4-2 winner over St. Francis in Monday's first game. Due to a thunderstorm in the forecast, bracket officials moved all of Tuesday's game times up two hours: St. Francis and Simpson will play an elimination game at 11:30 a.m., and the winner will play another elimination game against the SOU-Northwestern loser at 2 p.m. Simpson (34-21), the Cal Pac Conference champion, lost to the Raiders for the fourth time this season. The No. 4-seeded Red Hawks were in a 2-0 hole 10 pitches in after Shimek singled and Donovan ripped her 10th homer of the season, and the 21st of her two-year SOU career. Her single-season-record RBI total is up to 67 and, after drawing three more walks, she's reached base 38 games in a row. All four of SOU's runs in the fourth were unearned against freshman pitcher Sydney Moorhead (18-6). With two out and no one on, Avery Morehead-Hutsell's bobbled grounder to shortstop started the rally, and Randall made it 4-0 with a shot to right field that lined off the top of the fence – just an inch or two from clearing it. Randall's slide was just in front of the throw home, and the next five Raiders behind her reached base with Velasquez and Tayler Walker delivering the run-scoring singles. Walker – who, along with Morehead-Hutsell, went 2-for-3 – tacked on a second RBI in the seventh on a squeeze play. The support was plenty for Sandoval, who struck out four and walked three over 110 pitches. In her 18th complete game of the season, the Red Hawks got their only run in the first on Mia Olvera's double to deep left that chased Mazzie Davies home. Emily Fuller added a pair of hits for the Red Hawks. The Raiders are potentially just two wins from a return trip to the NAIA World Series. If they survive Tuesday, they'll play in the final round at 11 a.m. Wednesday. GAME 1 – NORTHWESTERN (IA) 4, ST. FRANCIS (IL) 2 MEDFORD – The No. 3-seeded Northwestern (Iowa) Red Raiders broke up a scoreless pitchers' duel with all four of their runs in the fifth inning, pulling off a 4-2 upset of the No. 2-seeded St. Francis (Ill.) Fighting Saints in the Southern Oregon Bracket opener on Monday afternoon at U.S. Cellular Community Park. Senior pitcher Kayla Tindall (18-6) tossed a complete-game, two-hitter for the Red Raiders (36-11 overall) to get the best of Fighting Saints (38-8) ace Morghan Dieringer (22-3). Emma Schnell and Madison Beaver set the table with singles in the fifth, and Amanda Everhart pushed the first run across on a suicide-squeeze play with one out. Beaver scored on a wild pitch, and RBI doubles later in the inning from Jessica Sandbulte and Emily Bosch made it 4-0. St. Francis, ranked 15th in the NAIA, had won 22 of its last 23 games coming into the day. The Fighting Saints got on the board with Jensen Tchorzynski's solo home run in the sixth, but they scored their only other run unearned in the seventh. Tindall struck out seven and worked around four walks. She and the Red Raiders advanced to play at 9 a.m. Tuesday against Southern Oregon. The Fighting Saints will play an elimination game at 11:30 a.m. against Simpson (Calif.), with the winner moving on to play another at 2 p.m.