GREAT FALLS, Mont. – The University of Providence softball team fell to the top-seeded Southern Oregon Raiders in both games on Saturday. The Argos (1-11, 0-5) lost 7-3 in the first game and 11-2 in the second game.

In the first game, the Raiders got off to a 3-0 lead. The Argos got on the board in the bottom of the 5^th inning when Karlie Southworth hit a solo shot over the left field fence. The Raiders responded with three more runs in the top of the 6^th. The Argos scored a run each in the 6^th and 7^th inning, but couldn't muster enough to topple the Raiders.

Head coach Joey Egan was proud of the way her team hit against Gabby Sandoval, the returning NAIA National Pitcher of the Year.

"We scored more than her average," Egan said. "I was pretty excited that we produced runs. We played a little cleaner and were really in that game."

The Raiders scored five runs in the first inning in the second game. The Argos responded with two runs of their own in the bottom of the second to make it 5-2. However the Raiders scored three runs each in the 4^th and 6^th inning to secure an 11-2 win.

"The biggest thing I took away is that we're still not that far off," Egan said. "We have some moments that take away from us being competitive in these games. It's not like we're out of it the whole game. All in all I think we got better today and I think we grew as a team."

Specifically, Egan was proud of how her team executed defensively. In preparation for the Raiders quickness, the Argos practiced a ton of bunt coverages.

"We got some bunts as outs today," Egan said. "I'm really excited that we got some outs on bunts. We worked on that all week so it was nice to see them execute that today."

The Argos will head to Canada next weekend with four games against the University of British Columbia.