Warriors surprise No. 23-ranked Raiders with road win

March 25, 2006

BOX SCORE - Game #1| Game #2

ASHLAND, Ore. – After a disappointing double loss at Oregon Tech Friday, Corban’s softball team came back strong on the batting strength of sophomore Laura Santie (Seattle, Ore.) and the pitching prowess of senior Rachel Hiatt (Sublimity, Ore.) to upset the NAIA’s 23-ranked Southern Oregon Raiders 4-3 in the opener and gain a split in a Cascade Collegiate Conference doubleheader at University Field.

Game 1 – Corban 4, Southern Oregon 3

Trailing 1-0 through 3 innings, Santie gave the Warriors a huge lift, smacking a 2-run homer in the fourth off SOU ace Julianne Cree (6-4). Meanwhile, Hiatt tossed a seven-hit complete game, drove in the game-tying run in the Warriors’ decisive 2-run sixth with a line drive single and retired the final six Raider batters for her third victory of the year.

The road win snapped a three-game slide and gave Corban its first-ever victory at University Field, as well as its first win in conference play.

Southern Oregon regained the lead, 3-2, in the fifth inning, but a hit batsman and a fielding error set the table for Hiatt’s key hit as well as the game-winning sacrifice fly by freshman Becca Shelamer (Central Point, Ore.) in the sixth-inning Warrior rally.

Hiatt was 2-for-3 at the plate, while sophomore Megan Lamson (Medford, Ore.) had a base hit and scored twice for the Warriors. The Warriors turned in a strong defensive performance throughout, registering 12 assists and 21 putouts without an error.

Game 2 – Southern Oregon 7, Corban 3

Corban broke out with three runs on four hits in the opening inning, but Southern Oregon quickly scored six runs in the first two innings and went on to shut down the Warrior bats and claim the nightcap.

In the Warriors’ first, Hiatt singled home a run and later scored on a wild pitch, and Santie added an RBI grounder that plated sophomore Lindsay Batey (Aloha, Ore.) who had doubled.

The Raiders took advantage of four hits, a trio of wild pitches, two walks, and an error to jump out 6-3 after two innings, and rode the five-hit pitching performance of freshman Cat Cousins to their second conference win against two losses.

Batey had two hits in three at-bats and registered seven putouts for the Warriors at first base. Hiatt’s single in the first gave her a 3-for-6 day batting and bumped her team-leading season average to .441 (15 for 34).

Freshman Erin Sailors (Anchorage, Alaska) pitched six innings for Corban, giving up 7 runs (2 earned) on 7 hits, 7 base-on-balls and 4 wild pitches.

Doherty led the winners with two hits, including her 3rd home run in six games for Oregon Tech. Kelsi Haylett stole four bases and scored twice for the Owls in game two.

.Corban is now 3-11 overall, 1-3 in conference, while Southern Oregon moves to 12-9 overall, and 2-2 in CCC play.  The Warriors will be next in action on Wednesday, March 29th, when they travel to Burnaby, British Columbia, to take on the NAIA’s No. 2-rated Simon Fraser in doubleheader action beginning at 2:00 p.m.