Ayla Davies notches second shutout, comes within one strikeout of matching SOU pitching record
EUGENE – Southern Oregon hit the 30-win mark for the 10th consecutive full season by finishing off a four-game sweep of Bushnell on Saturday, 7-0 and 14-2 at Schwab Field.
Ayla Davies was perfect through 5-2/3 innings in the opener, eventually finishing off a two-hit shutout in which she registered a season-high 13 strikeouts. Hailey Seva was the Game 2 star, going 3-for-3 with a three-run home run, a triple, three runs scored and five RBIs.
The top-ranked Raiders upped their record to 30-2 overall and 13-1 in the Cascade Conference entering next week’s six-game homestand. They play two against No. 2-ranked Oregon Tech on Wednesday before hosting Corban over the weekend.
Davies, now 18-1, shot to the top of the NAIA wins leaderboard with her second shutout in as many days and was one strikeout away from matching SOU’s single-game record. She didn’t issue a walk, fanned five of the first six Beacons (6-22, 1-14) she faced, and had considerably more breathing room than in Friday’s 1-0 victory.
Vanessa Lang went 2-for-3 with a pair of RBIs, the first on a second-inning single as the Raiders got out to a 2-0 lead. They added on in each of the last three innings. Piper Love went 2-for-4 with a triple, a run scored and two RBI hits, Kennedy Kila went 2-for-2 with two runs and an RBI, and Sammie Pemberton totaled two hits and two runs scored.
SOU’s lineup broke out again during the finale in support of its starter, Kila, who got through five innings while yielding three hits and one earned run. Tatiana Blas relieved her with two hit-free frames.
Kierstin Grotewiel capped a three-run first inning with a two-RBI double. Sarah Kerling lined two run-scoring triples, and Seva got going with an RBI triple of her own during a three-run fifth inning.
Seva’s homer, her team-leading third of the year, was a three-run shot launched down the left field line during SOU’s five-run seventh.
Avery Coffin and Christina Tadvick contributed two hits apiece to the Raiders’ total of 14. Six of those went for extra bases.
The Raiders ended the weekend a half-game behind Eastern Oregon for first place. Wednesday’s 2 p.m. Game 1 against Oregon Tech will be a CCC rubber match between the teams.
This story first appeared on the Southern Oregon University Sports Information website, souraiders.com
