ASHLAND, Ore. –
Colette Robert tossed a one-hit shutout in the opener, as the College of Idaho defeated their highest ranked opponent in program history, toppling No. 3 Southern Oregon, 2-0, at University Field.
The Yotes (10-3, 1-1 CCC) improved their school record start to the season with the victory and nearly had a sweep – rallying with two outs in the seventh inning of Game 2 to force extra innings, but SOU earned a walk off 5-4 victory in eight innings.
Robert pitched to contact in Game 1 – allowing just a Victoria Mackey single in the fifth inning. The lefty got 10 fly ball outs and induced nine ground outs in tossing her fourth career shutout.
C of I got all the run support they needed in the fifth, as
Kristin Paulazzo singled and scored on a two-out RBI single from
Kylie Smith – her second hit of the game. An inning later,
Delaney Atkins launched a solo homer for insurance.
The win etched the team in history – surpassing a 3-0 victory over No. 4-ranked Olivet Nazarene during the 2014 NAIA Softball World Series – as the highest ranked foe defeated.
SOU (14-6, 1-1) took their first lead of the day in the fourth inning of Game 2, as a two-out, two-run double from Katrina Winterburn gave the hosts a 3-2 advantage. The lead would grow to 4-2 in the seventh, before C of I rallied – as Smith singled and moved to third on a
Jordan Maddox double. With two outs,
Marissa Maddox blooped a single into left to plate both runners, forcing extra innings.
After C of I stranded the go-ahead runner on base in the eighth, the Raiders won it in their final at bat, as Karlee Coughlin led off the inning with a double and pinch runner Davelin Ontiveros scored on a Winterburn RBI single.
C of I had their chances – pounding out 15 hits in the loss, stranding 11 runners. Six different players had multi-hit games, with
Jordan Maddox going 3-for-4 with two RBI and Atkins, Paulazzo, Smith,
Lacie Miller,
Marissa Maddox all logging two hits.
The two teams wrap up the series tomorrow with a doubleheader at 11 a.m. (PT) – with the first game counting in the Cascade Conference standings.
