GAME 1 BOX          GAME 2 BOX

LA GRANDE, Ore. – The Southern Oregon University softball team picked up a pair of victories over Eastern Oregon University Friday, 5-4 and 8-3.

The Raiders (7-8, 4-0 Cascade Collegiate Conference) won their fifth straight game, and won their sixth straight against EOU at Peggy Anderson Field. SOU begins conference play with four straight wins.

In Game 1, the Mountaineers jumped ahead of Southern in the first inning when Jennifer McDonnell brought in Emily Anderson and Mariebeth Watanabe with a single to right field. The Raiders responded with a run in the top of the third inning. Lauren Keel drove in Melissa Corn with a double down the left field line.

Eastern added a run in the bottom half of the inning when Emily Anderson hit a solo home run as the leadoff batter. Southern's Irene Barrantes hit a two-run home run to tie the game, 3-3, in the top of the fourth. The deep shot to right-center field brought in Jordyn Kurtz, and was Barrantes' fifth home run this season.

Southern Oregon got its first lead of the game in the fifth inning when Brooke Springer singled to right field and later scored on a Katie Moy single through the left side. The Mountaineers' Anderson tied the score with her second home run of the game in the bottom of the fifth. Anderson's third home run of the season cleared the right field wall to even the score at four.

The Raiders regained the lead in the top of the seventh inning. Moy recorded her second RBI of the game with a single to right field that brought in Danielle Batson. Kurtz would then retire the side in order in the bottom half of the inning to record the victory.

Kurtz allowed seven EOU hits in seven innings, and three earned runs. She struck out 10 Mountaineer batters and walked another. McDonnell threw a complete game, allowing 10 hits and three earned runs. The sophomore struck out five batters and walked one.

Eastern left five batters on base in the first game, while SOU stranded six. The Mountaineers committed three errors to Southern's one.

Southern Oregon got out to an early lead in the second game with a run in the first inning and three more in the second. Rayna Okimoto recorded an RBI in the first inning with a single that drove in Springer. Mischa Meyer hit her first career home run in the second inning that brought in two runs.

Okimoto scored on a Jessica Flores sacrifice fly in the fifth inning. The Mountaineers were held to two hits and no runs through the first five innings of the game. Okimoto would score again in the top of the sixth inning when she hit a three-run home run over the right field fence.

Anderson hit her third home run of the day in the bottom of the sixth inning with a shot to left center. Suzie Espinoza hit a two-run home run over the center field wall in the seventh inning, but EOU (4-13, 1-5 CCC) would fail to score again.

Flores recorded her first victory of the season on the mound. She tossed a complete game allowing six hits and three earned runs. Flores struck out six and walked one. Jessy Reynolds was credited with the loss after allowing five hits and three earned runs in two innings. SOU had 16 hits and left nine runners on base. Eastern abandoned four runners on base. Neither team committed an error.

The Mountaineers host Oregon Tech (17-6, 3-1 CCC) Saturday at Peggy Anderson Field. First pitch for Game 1 is scheduled for 11 a.m. The Owls split with The College of Idaho Friday.