ASHLAND Ore. -  No. 3 Southern Oregon (19-4 7-1 CCC) used great pitching and timely hitting to sweep a key Cascade Conference doubleheader from No. 9 Oregon Tech (18-8, 6-2 CCC) 3-0 in game one and 5-4 in 9-innings in game two at University Field.

" Our team battled in both games but we fell short of getting a big win on the road," said Head Coach Greg Stewart. "I was proud of how they made adjustments after struggling offensively in the first game. We were just one timely hit shy of winning game two."
 
Game 1 Southern Oregon 3 Oregon Tech 0
 
Game one featured a pitcher's duel between Oregon Tech's Ali Graham and Gabby Sandoval of SOU. Sandoval threw her sixth shutout of the season and Hannah Wessel broke a scoreless tie with her first career home run, a solo shot in the fifth inning, to lead the Raiders to a 3-0 win over the Owls.
                       
Sandoval's three-hitter in the opener marked the fourth time in five conference starts that she hasn't yielded an earned run. She struck out five and walked two, and after surrendering back-to-back singles to lead off the bottom of the fourth, she retired the final 12 Owls she faced in order.
 
Game 2 Southern Oregon 5 Oregon Tech 4 (9-innings)
 
Tayler Walker and Tiana Brown blasted solo homers in the second and fourth innings to help SOU to a 3-2 lead. That was the score with two outs in the seventh inning, when Tech's Andrea Sotelo lined a double to the gap in right-center that chased Shayna Ige home from first base and forced extra innings.
 
OIT starter Sarah Abramson (7-4), who totaled 172 pitches in 8 2/3 frames, gave up a leadoff single to Morehead-Hutsell in the ninth and a one-out single to Hannah Shimek. They advanced to second and third on Lauren Quirke's deep flyout to left, and Leeper's infield hit to shortstop brought in Morehead-Hutsell for the go-ahead run. The next batter, Brown, made it 5-3 by dropping a single into left.
 
Sandoval got out of trouble in the bottom of the ninth after a bunt single and a pair of walks loaded the bases with two outs. Cierra Barkis's single to third base cut the lead to one, but Sandoval induced a McKenna Armantrout groundout to escape the jam.
 
The Raiders' two-through-five hitters – Shimek, Quirke, Leeper and Brown – had two hits apiece. Walker, whose homer was her second of the season, was on base three times with a pair of walks. Brown's homer was the first of her career.
 
Sotelo went 3-for-4 with a walk, a double and two RBI to lead the Owls with Graham going 2-for-5 with a double, an RBI and a run scored.
The Team will conclude the 4-game series with a doubleheader on Sunday at University Field with the first pitch scheduled for 11:00 am
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