Al Case, Ashland Daily Photo.
SOU, Corban protect top seeds on Day 1 of CCC Tournament presented by U.S. Bank
Friday's Games:
Game 1 - (5) UBC 3, (4) EOU 2
Game 2 - (3) OIT 2, (6) Carroll 1 (8 inn.)
Game 3 - (1) SOU 5, (5) UBC 2
Game 4 - (2) Corban 6, (3) OIT 3
Saturday's Games:
Game 5, 9 a.m. - (5) UBC vs. (6) Carroll (loser eliminated)
Game 6, 11:30 a.m. - (3) OIT vs. (4) EOU (loser eliminated)
Game 7, 2 p.m. - (1) SOU vs. (2) Corban
Game 8, 4:30 p.m. - Game 5 Winner vs. Game 6 Winner
Sunday's Games:
Game 9, 11 a.m. - Loser of Game 7 vs. Winner of Game 8
Game 10, 1:30 p.m. - Winner of Game 7 vs. Winner of Game 9
Game 11 - 30 minutes after competion of Game 10 (if necessary)
ASHLAND, Ore. – Southern Oregon and Corban, the top two seeds, got out of Day 1 of the Cascade Conference Softball Tournament presented by U.S. Bank unscathed and will meet at 2 p.m. Saturday for a spot in Sunday’s final.
Day 2 of the double-elimination tourney will start with a pair of win-or-go-home matchups at regular-season champ SOU’s University Field: No. 5-seeded British Columbia against No. 6-seeded Carroll (Mont.) at 9 a.m., and No. 3-seeded Oregon Tech against No. 4-seeded Eastern Oregon at 11:30 a.m. The winners of those games will meet for another elimination game at 4:30 p.m., following the Corban-SOU matchup.
Below is a chronological recap of Friday’s contests:
GAME 1 – BRITISH COLUMBIA 3, EASTERN OREGON 2
Claire Eccles lined a double to the center-field fence in the sixth inning, scoring Paige Harbord from first base for the winning run in No. 5-seeded British Columbia's 3-2 defeat of No. 4-seeded Eastern Oregon in Game 1 of the Cascade Conference Tournament presented by U.S. Bank on Friday at University Field.
Eccles also hit a two-run homer to tie the game for UBC (18-21) in the bottom of the first inning after Chelsea Spanier launched one in the top half for the Mountaineers (23-21). Eccles made a winner out of Emma Tuson (10-6), who finished off a five-hit complete game after allowing three extra-base hits in the first. The Thunderbirds advanced to play top-seeded Southern Oregon.
GAME 2 – OREGON TECH 2, CARROLL 1 (8 inn.)
Sahalie Doe dribbled the go-ahead single up the middle in the eighth inning of No. 3-seeded Oregon Tech's 2-1 win over No. 6-seeded Carroll (Mont.) in Game 2 of the Cascade Conference Tournament presented by U.S. Bank on Friday afternoon at University Field.
The 20th-ranked Owls (36-11 overall) trailed 1-0 in the sixth when Tara Moates flared an RBI single into right field with two outs to force extras. Doe's hit to win it was set up by Shayna Ige's double down the line in left.
It made a winner out of Loryn Williams, who went all eight innings in a three-hitter to improve to 12-1. She out-dueled Carroll's Allison Williams (13-10), who gave up just five hits in her complete game after being provided a lead in the first on an Anna ApRoberts double. The Owls advanced to play No. 2-seeded Corban
GAME 3 – SOUTHERN OREGON 5, BRITISH COLUMBIA 2
Top-seeded Southern Oregon debuted in the Cascade Conference Tournament presented by U.S. Bank with a 5-2 win against No. 5-seeded British Columbia on Friday afternoon, riding another Gabby Sandoval complete game and scoring in each of the first four innings at University Field.
The No. 8-ranked Raiders (42-12 overall) advanced in the double-elimination tourney to play at 2 p.m. Saturday against Corban or Oregon Tech for a spot in Sunday's final. They got on the board against the Thunderbirds (18-22) on Donovan's RBI groundout in the first that scored Kelsey Randall, who came in on a Donovan single in the fourth.
Hannah Shimek went 3-for-3, Rebecca Velasquez went 2-for-3, and Hannah Wessel and Avery Morehead-Hutsell both doubled with an RBI and a run scored.
In her ninth consecutive complete game, Sandoval (21-6) worked around nine hits with five strikeouts. Claire Eccles' two-run double accounted for the only dent on her line.
GAME 4 – CORBAN 6, OREGON TECH 3
The No. 12-ranked Corban Warriors stroked five extra-base hits in their Cascade Conference Tournament opener, defeating No. 20 Oregon Tech 6-3 on Friday afternoon at University Field in the final game of Day 1.
Kaylee Burkhuhl drove a two-run triple to the opposite field in the second inning, putting the the No. 2-seeded Warriors (35-11) up 3-1, and she hit a towering solo home run to center field in the fifth. Megan Rybar also hit a solo homer in the second, and Irene McGuire lifted a two-run shot for the No. 3-seeded Owls (36-12).
The Warriors advanced to play top-seeded Southern Oregon at 2 p.m. Saturday for a spot in Sunday's final. The Owls, who started the day by defeating No. 6-seeded Carroll, will play an elimination game against Eastern Oregon at 11:30 a.m.
Sabrina Boyd (18-6), the CCC Pitcher of the Year, picked up the win with 4 2/3 innings of work. Alyssa Vidal earned the save, getting the Warriors out of a bases-loaded jam in a three-run game during the fifth inning.