Fresh off of a split with Corban, the Southern Oregon softball team made a clean sweep of Northwest Christian on Saturday to push them into second place in the Cascade Conference table.
The Raiders won the opening game 4-1 and were led by pitcher Jordan Kurtz’s solid play.
Kurtz has been a consistent force for Southern Oregon so far this season as she struck out seven and allowed only three hits and one unearned run in the first game against Northwest Christian.
Rayna Okimoto was the sparkplug for the Raider offense as she quickly recorded a score for Southern Oregon in the second inning.
Okimoto recorded a double before reaching third on a passed ball and eventually coming into home courtesy of an error.
However, the Raiders did not break open the game until the sixth when Okimoto, with the scores leveled at one each, drove Melissa Corn in off a double to give Southern Oregon the lead for the rest of the night.
Okimoto and Danielle Batson each scored on a triple from Irene Barrantes to put the Raiders up 4-to-1 before Kurtz closed out the game in a victory for the Raiders.
Kurtz is curently 4-1 in the season with a 0.82 ERA in conference play and has struck out 33, walking only six.
Okimoto was 3-for-3 for Southern Oregon in the first game and Sarah Wharton recorded two singles for the Raiders.
In the second game, sophomore Jessica Flores took over the pitching duties with ease as she allowed only three hits and one earned run to record her second win of the season.
Of the three hits she allowed, two of those were in the seventh inning.
It took Southern Oregon until the third inning before they started to pull away.
Singles from Wharton, Brooke Springer and Corn along with a triple from Katie Moy gave the Raiders a comfortable 4-to-0 lead.
In the fifth inning, the Raiders managed to add two un-earned runs to complete the scoring and ensure a complete sweep.
In the second game, Springer, Corn and Moy led the Raiders in batting with two hits each.
Following both defeats, Northwest Christian found themselves with a dismal 1-9 conference record and 7-17 overall.
With the wins, Southern Oregon is now sitting at second in the Cascade Conference with a 7-3 record.
The Raiders have a 10-11 overall record and will be looking to improve both records when they take on currently conference leader Oregon Tech this Wednesday in Klamath Falls.
