Softball title celebration gets underway at 3:30 p.m. at Mountain Avenue and Siskiyou Boulevard
Fan, students, alumni and staff are invited to help the Southern Oregon University softball team commemorate its third NAIA national title with a championship parade on Tuesday afternoon.
At 3:30 p.m., the Raiders will start the parade route on the corner of Mountain Avenue and Siskiyou Boulevard.
They’ll head south toward Wightman Street and make their way toward University Field, where the trophy presentation is scheduled for 4 p.m.
Following the presentation, all are welcome to participate in a community home run derby.
SOU’s 50-12 season culminated with an 11-0 title game victory over rival Oregon Tech last Wednesday. In four NAIA World Series games, the fourth-seeded Raiders outscored their opponents 35-2.
The Raiders posted the highest run total and top run differential ever among teams that have gone undefeated at the final site. Sixteen days after a sub-.500 team, Vanguard (Calif.), put them on the brink of elimination on the first day of the Opening Round, they ended the season on an eight-game winning streak.
Cayla Williams, the senior right-hander from San Jose, Calif., led a group of four Raiders recognized on the all-tournament after she was named the NAIA World Series MVP. Also named to the all-tourney team were senior second baseman Deja Acosta, senior catcher Riley Donovan and sophomore center fielder Sarah Kerling.
Williams pitched all 23 defensive innings for SOU at the tournament and posted a 0.61 ERA while allowing just 13 hits. Williams finished up with her second shutout of Oregon Tech in five days, a five-hitter that brought her season record to 24-5. She was also a force from the cleanup spot in the Raider lineup, going 5-for-14 with 10 RBIs and hitting a grand slam in a 5-1 tourney-opening win over Georgia Gwinnett.
Donovan posted a record-setting total of 11 RBIs at the final site in Columbus, Georgia.
Email Ashland.news Executive Editor Bert Etling at [email protected] or call or text him at 541-631-1313.
