CALDWELL, Idaho - The College of Idaho and Southern Oregon University split a highly-contested Cascade Conference doubleheader at Symms Field this afternoon, with the Coyotes winning Game 1, 10-7, with the Raiders rallying to win Game 2, 6-3.
Box Score Game 1 Box Score Game 2
The Lady Yotes (12-10, 1-3 CCC) used a six-run sixth inning to break a 4-4 tie in the opener, while SOU rallied from 3-0 down in Game 2, winning the game with a three-run top of the seventh inning.
In Game 1, the teams went back-and-forth in the early going, as the Raiders (7-10, 3-1) scored an unearned run in the first, only to watch as the Yotes took the lead in the bottom of the frame on a two-out, three-run Paige Gabiola homer. SOU would square the game at 3-3 - scoring on run on a passed ball in the second and tying the game on a Alexa Gonzalez solo homer in the third.
Tied 4-4 in the sixth, the Yotes took the lead for good on a leadoff solo home run from Rachael Strong, adding two-run singles from Molly Mills and Kayla Webb, part of the six-run explosion. Southern would not go down without a fight in the seventh, as Ashley Lowe singled home a run and Sierra Anderson clubbed a two-run homer, but the visitors could not get closer.
Nickayla Skinner got the win, striking out nine in the complete game effort, with Webb and Strong each going 2-for-4 for the Yotes. Gonzales went 2-for-3 with three runs scored and Lowe went 2-for-4 in the loss for SOU.
The Coyotes looked to run away with Game 2 - sprinting out to a 3-0 lead in the opening two innings. Molly Mills scored on a passed ball in the first, and an inning later, Cortni Pena led off with a double, scoring when Kaitlin Howell's sacrifice bunt was thrown away. Kaci Baldwell followed with an RBI single to give the Yotes the three-run cushion.
However, SOU reliever Sydney White was dominant, allowing just one other runner to reach third on the afternoon, striking out nine. The Raiders offense backed her up, getting a Lowe sacrifice fly in the third, a Jessica Flores RBI single in the fourth, and a Julia Willison RBI single in the sixth to tie the score. In the seventh, Gonzalez broke the tie with a two-run double to give Southern their first lead and the visitors held on for the win.
Kara Kelsey went 2-for-4 and Flores added a pair of hits in the win, while Baldwin went 2-for-2 for the Lady Yotes. Pena took the loss, walking four and striking out five in the complete game effort.
The C of I returns to action next weekend on the road with games at Corban and Northwest Christian.
