CORVALLIS, Ore. – No. 5 Southern Oregon University Softball team was named the Under Armour Team of the Week for April 10 – 16 the Cascade Collegiate Conference announced Sunday.
This weekend, Southern Oregon brought home 45 runs and four more wins after a full series sweep of Carroll College on the road in Helena, Montana.
Cayla Williams took over game one on Friday, earning the win on the mound while striking out four batters in five innings. She also had a perfect game at the plate with three RBIs and a run to lead SOU to its first 10-3 defeat. Deja Acosta and Ashton Cathey both hit home runs.
In the second game of the day, Williams, now at first base, stayed hot with a two-run homer. Acosta and Riley Donovan also both went yard for the Raiders. Katie Machado pitched five innings for the 5-4 win on the mound. Holly Fletcher closed out both games in relief, not allowing a run and only two hits with five strikeouts over five innings on day one.
The next day, SOU decided to go home early after ending both games by mercy rule. On their highest-scoring afternoon of the season, the Raiders ripped 36 hits over 11 frames and batted .537 as a team while clearing the fence six more times. Their weekend exploits gave them the highest batting average in the NAIA on the season at .381.
Williams got the game-one victory again by allowing one run over three innings, giving way to Mayze Menefee for the last two frames to end with a score of 20-2 in six innings. Machado threw a complete-game five-hitter in the 10-2, five-inning finale.
Southern Oregon University softball (31-7 overall, 18-4 CCC) is second in CCC win percentage behind top-ranked Oregon Tech and has won five straight - 11 of its last 12. Next weekend, they will head to Portland, Ore., for another conference series against Warner Pacific University.