ASHLAND, Ore. – Mountaineers Softball battled on day one of their toughest conference match-up yet of the 2022 season as they split a day one showdown against in-state rival No. 6 Southern Oregon. Eastern Oregon took the series opener, 1-0, in extra innings before falling 8-0 in game two to set up an exciting match-up for day two between the two squads.
Game 1 – Eastern Oregon 1, No. 6 Southern Oregon 0 (8 Innings)
How it Happened
• The series opener was a defensive slugfest as the game produced just one run that went in the favor of EOU (17-6, 7-1 CCC). Both squads had two errors on the day as well as the game went into extra innings.
• The Mountaineers kept pace with the Raiders (20-6, 6-2 CCC) as their rival barely outhit them 7-5. Discipline showcased in EOU's favor late as an SOU error in the eighth set up the gamewinning run.
• Both squads had glimpses of chances at scoring throughout the contest, but defense was stout throughout the contest on both sides. It was not until late, when EOU scored to hold on for the win.
• In the eighth, EOU ended the defensive fight with a run scored on a hit and a SOU error.
Madison Stateler got things started with a leadoff single and got to second on a sacrifice bunt.
• In the same sequence of the bunt by
Taylor Dow, a fielding error by the Raiders got Stateler to third. She ultimately scored on an RBI sacrifice fly from
Grace Gaither to bring the score to its final of 1-0.
Mountaineers Stat Leaders
•
Madison Stateler led all hitters with three hits in four at bats and scored the gamewinning run.
•
Taylor Dow had one hit in two at bats.
•
Karsyn Zaragoza also had a hit in four plate appearances.
•
Grace Gaither tallied one RBI in the win.
• Starter
Amanda Smith (8-1) pitched a complete game and had a game-high seven strikeouts.
For the Raiders
• Cayla Williams led the bats with two hits in four at bats.
• Ashton Cathey and Rylan Austin each had one hit in four plate appearances.
• Starter Katie Machado (8-3) pitched a complete game and had seven strikeouts in the loss.
Game 2 - No. 6 Southern Oregon 8, Eastern Oregon 0 (5 Innings)
How it Happened
• The second game went in the Raiders favor who posted an eight-run shutout to end the contest early. They outhit the Mounties 13-3 in the win.
• Southern grabbed the lead early with a quartet of hits in the opening frame. Their four hits allowed two runs to score as they went ahead 2-0 early on and never looked back.
• The lead grew to 5-0 in the second inning for the Raiders. They did not allow a hit by EOU and added three runs on five hits to grab a commanding 5-0 lead.
• Following a scoreless third innings, the Raiders plated across two more runs to make it a 7-0 contest. Helping SOU score the two runs was a pair of Eastern errors and one hit.
• Southern closed out the contest early with two hits in the fifth and ultimately scored on an EOU error to make it an 8-0 final score. The two hits and the errors ultimately allowed SOU to tie the series at 1-1.
Mountaineers Stat Leaders
•
Caitlin Crist led the bats, going 2-3 in the contest.
•
Hannah Tyree had the only other hit, finishing 1-3.
•
Mckenna Stallings (4-3) suffered the loss.
•
Abby Giles pitched the most innings, working 2.2 frames in relief.
For the Raiders
• Cayla Williams was a perfect 3-3 with two RBI and scored one run. She also pitched a complete game to improve to 6-0 and had five strikeouts in the start.
• Riley Donovan was 2-3 in the win, scoring two runs and had two RBI.
• Deja Acosta batted 2-3 and scored a pair of runs to go along with an RBI.
• Ashton Cathey also had two hits in three at bats. She scored a run and had one RBI.
By the Numbers
2 - Eastern picked up its second win over a ranked opponent in the series opener over SOU.
10 - The Mounties' game one win snapped a 10-game losing streak to the Raiders.
2 - EOU handed Southern its second conference loss in the game one win.
17 - The Mountaineers win in game one helped them surpass their win total of 16 from the 2021 season.
1 - Head Coach
Nicole Christian picked up her first career win over SOU on Sunday.
7 -
Amanda Smith threw her seventh complete game in the series opening win.
Up Next
• Eastern wraps up the series against No. 6 Southern on Monday, March 21 in another doubleheader. First pitch is set for 11 a.m. in Ashland.
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