BRACKET | TOURNAMENT CENTRAL
COLUMBUS, Ga. – Southern Oregon won't have to do it the hard way, or at least the hardest way, this time around at the NAIA Softball World Series.
On the opening day of the 10-team, double-elimination tournament, the No. 3-seeded Raiders skated past No. 6 seed Cumberlands (Ky.) with a 4-2 win on Thursday afternoon at the South Commons Complex. They scored all of their runs in the second inning and got a four-hit complete game out of Ayla Davies to avoid the fate of last year's team, which had to play seven elimination games after dropping its opener.
The Raiders (45-13 overall) are separated from their fifth championship by a minimum of three victories and a maximum of five. They brought the NAIA's longest active winning streak to 16 games. They'll attempt to extend it at 4 p.m. PT Saturday against No. 2 seed Southeastern (Fla.), No. 7 seed College of Idaho, or No. 10 seed British Columbia.
As Cumberlands (40-20) learned, the margin for error at the final site against SOU remains minimal. The Raiders sent eight batters to the plate in the second, which Avery Coffin got started with a hit. After she moved to third base on a sacrifice bunt and a passed ball, Gia Almont slapped a grounder to pitcher Jessica Cord, who turned to first and found no one to throw to as Coffin trotted home.
The parade continued with a little more help. With two on in the frame, Kalea Thomas lined a single up the middle that center fielder Maleah Clinton kicked around to allow both to score and Thomas to reach third. She was still there when Vanessa Lang hit a sharp grounder to shortstop Alyssa Garcia, whose initial bobble left her only play at first base as Thomas came home to put the Raiders up 4-1.
Davies settled in after the rally to pocket her 27th win. The reigning World Series MVP gave up a leadoff home run to Grace Ross, plunked the second batter she saw and didn't surrender an earned run the rest of the way. The complete game was the first of her career in which she didn't record a strikeout, but the Patriots failed to get on top of her rise-ball: 17 of the 21 outs Davies recorded were flyouts, and only eight of those reached SOU's outfielders.
In her last 14 appearances, Davies has notched 13 wins and one save. She has given up two or fewer runs in 12 straight starts.
The Patriots scored their second run after a pair of booted ground balls in the third. They stranded runners on second and third that inning and only had two at-bats with a runner in scoring position the rest of the way.
SOU also defeated Cumberlands in last year's World Series, 3-0. Davies twirled a two-hitter in that one.
Coffin and Thomas both had a pair of hits in the rematch. Thomas stretched her hitting streak to 16 games and has registered multiple in all eight postseason outings. Elysia Duarte went 1-for-3 with a run scored and Brooke Nordahl reached twice.