ASHLAND, Ore. – The Argos (7-22, 7-15 CCC) fell in a doubleheader on Friday to the No. 4-ranked Southern Oregon Raiders (38-5, 22-1 CCC). The Argos fell in a six-inning shutout to open the series, 8-0, but fought back in the second game to drop a hard-fought 9-6 contest at University Field.
GAME ONE – University of Providence 0 – Southern Oregon 8
How it Happened: The Argos would go down in order in the first, but the Raiders got on the board first. A single would put one on base, before an Argo throwing error and an RBI-double would push the Raiders first runner across, 1-0. The Argos would get a hit in the second as
Taylor Mathews connected on a two-out single to get aboard before the Raiders closed the inning with a fly out to prevent any damage from the Argos. Southern Oregon would increase their lead by three in the bottom of the second to take a four-run lead, 4-0. The Argos would struggle offensively to get anything going as the Raiders shut the Argos down through the sixth inning. Southern would tack on a pair of runs in the third, followed by two more in the fifth and sixth to close out the game by run-rule, 8-0.
At the Plate: Mathews tallied the Argos sole hit of the contest, going 1-for-2.
In the Circle: Hannah VanDomelen (5-8) got the start in the circle for the Argos, pitching five and a third innings. VanDomelen allowed eight runs on 11 hits in the contest and tallied one strikeout.
GAME TWO – University of Providence 6 – Southern Oregon 9
How it Happened: The Argos turned things around during game two as they got the bats going to jump out to an early lead. Mathews opened things up with a lead-off double, before
Skyla Nuebauer would knock a single to put Mathews on third, while Nuebauer stole second following the first out. However,
Hanna Tarum would connect on an RBI-single to plate Mathews and move Nuebauer to third to put the Argos first run across, 1-0. Nuebauer would score on a steal and Tarum would simultaneously steal second base to get into scoring position. Following the second out,
McKenzie Staats would knock an RBI-double to left center to bring Tarum home and give the Argos a 3-0 lead. The Raiders were able to tally two of their own runs in the bottom of the first, but the Argos would close things out with a one-run lead heading into the second, 3-2. Southern Oregon tied things up in the second inning, before scoring four in the third to take a 7-3 lead over the Argos and force a pitching change in the fourth inning. The Argos would cut the deficit back to two at the top of the fifth. Nuebauer opened the frame with a HBP to get aboard with no outs. Tarum would reach on a Raiders' fielding error, putting Nuebauer in scoring position at second. Staats would have a huge at-bat, knocking two more home with a 2-RBI double to push the Argos within two, 7-5. However, Southern Oregon extended their lead back to three in the bottom of the fifth, 8-5. The Raiders continued to add to their lead as they got one more across to take a 9-5 lead heading into the final inning.
Karlie Southworth opened the final frame for the Argos with a double before an RBI-single from Tarum would bring her home but it wasn't enough as the Raiders would eventually seal the 9-6 win.
At the Plate: The first four batters in the Argos' lineup, which includes Mathews, Nuebauer,
Karlie Southworth, and Tarum, went a combined 8-for-15 in the contest and were responsible for eight of the Argos' 11 hits. Staats led the team in RBIs with three, while Tarum tallied the Argos other two in the loss.
In the Circle: Khalyn Hageness (0-1) would take the loss for the Argos, pitching three innings and allowing seven runs on eight hits.
KJ Schweikert closed out the game, pitching the final three innings and allowing two runs on four hits. Both would tally a strikeout in the contest.
Up Next
The Argos will close out the series with a doubleheader on Saturday, April 20 with the first game starting at 1 p.m. MST (12 a.m. PST) and with game two to tentatively begin at 3 p.m. MST (2 p.m. PST).
