ASHLAND, Ore. - Rachael Strong had two of the four College of Idaho hits on the afternoon, including a key Game 1 home run, as the Lady Yotes split a pair of games against Southern Oregon at University Field.
The Lady Yotes (20-18, 6-8 CCC) won the opener, 3-1, while falling to the Raiders in Game 2, 2-0.
The C of I broke a scoreless tie in the fourth inning of Game 1, as Julia Henrie reached on an error, with Strong following with a long two-run homer. Southern (13-14, 9-5) answered in the bottom of the inning on a Jessica Flores run-scoring single, but had the tying run thrown out at third base to end the inning.
McKensie Stanton scored a key insurance run in the fifth - as the junior walked, stole second, moved to third on a wild pitch, and scored on an errant throw.
It was enough for Nickayla Skinner, who won her 13th game of the year, allowing just one run on seven hits, striking out six. Sydney White was the tough-luck loser for SOU, allowing just two hits and striking out four.
White returned to the circle in Game 2 and dominated the Yotes, allowing just two singles and just one runner to reach scoring position. The Raiders offense did their damage in the fourth - taking advantage of two C of I errors, as Alexa Gonzalez recorded an RBI single, with a second run scoring on a Coyote error.
Cortni Pena was solid in the loss for the Yotes, allowing just the two unearned runs on four hits, striking out one.
The Coyotes return to action tomorrow at No. 13 ranked Oregon Tech.
