VANCOUVER – Friday afternoon at UBC, the Thunderbirds (13-9, 7-6) dropped a pair of games to the #5 nationally ranked Southern Oregon Raiders (20-4, 10-1).
 
Cayla Williams went the distance for the Raiders on the mound and Riley Donovan provided two hits and three RBI for the visitors in a 6-1 SOU victory in Game 1. The lone UBC run was scored by Gabrielle Dorval in the bottom of the sixth inning.
 
Then in Game 2, the Raiders earned a 9-0 victory on the strength of a Piper Love three-run homer in the top of the fourth inning. The Raiders scored four in the fourth and five in the fifth to complete the 9-0 five inning victory in the second game.
 
Game 1
 
The Raiders drew first blood in the double-header by securing a 6-1 victory in the opening game. Catcher Riley Donovan paced the Raider attack with two hits and three RBI while pitcher Cayla Williams went the distance, surrendering one earned runs and six hits while striking out six. Sarah Kerling added a pair of hits for the visitors. At the other side, UBC's lone run came from Gabrielle Dorval in the bottom of the sixth inning and was driven in by Kaitlyn Eng. Lindsay Bell started the game on the mound for UBC and went four innings. Shelby Kempel chucked the final three innings for the 'Birds.
 
After a scoreless first two innings, the Raiders plated two runs in their half of the third inning off the bat of Riley Donovan. The Raiders catcher hit a single that scored Deja Acosta and Kailer Fulerton.
 
Southern Oregon then increased their lead to 5-0 in the fifth. First, a pair of infielding errors resulted in Sarah Kerling scoring an unearned run. Then Riley Donovan added two more RBI to her total with a single that scored Kailer Fulerton and Deja Acosta. That spelled the end of the day for Lindsay Bell on the mound. In came Shelby Kempel who recorded three straight outs to stop the bleeding.
 
Deja Acosta tacked on a final run for the Raiders in the top of the sixth when her two-out single scored Lindsey Stripling.
 
Up came the T-Birds in the bottom of the sixth, and with two outs and Gabrielle Dorval standing on third base, Kaitlyn Eng was able to drive her home thanks to an error at second base. Mia Vaclke then singled in the next at bat to put a second runner on, but that's as close as UBC would get. Caitlin Bradley-Tse hit into a fielder's choice, ending the threat.


 
A scoreless seventh inning at both sides resulted in the 6-1 victory for Southern Oregon – Their eighth in a row.
 
Game 2
 
The first three innings of the back-half of the double-header were quiet for both teams, as neither the Raiders and 'Birds were able to plate a run.


 
That all changed in the top of the fourth when the Raiders went to work. Riley Donovan led off the inning with a double, and scored two hitters later when Lauren Weinberg singled to left field.
 
Rylan Austin then got hit by a pitch, which put two runners on with one out for Piper Love. The sophomore catcher crushed a Shae Sever pitch to deep left field and over the wall for a three-run homer, and a 4-0 Raider lead.
 
The visitors tacked on five more in the fifth. The run barrage begun with a two-run double from Riley Donovan. Three batters later, Rylan Austin reached base on an error from the third baseman, which scored Donovan.
 
Up next was Piper Love who knocked in her fourth run of the game on a double to right centerfield.
 
The final run of the afternoon came a hitter later when Faith Moultrie's groundout to second base scored Gabby Heiken.
 
Katie Machado went the distance for Southern Oregon on the mound. She finished the game with four strikeouts, four hits, and two walks with zero earned runs. In addition to Shae Sever, Lindsay Bell, Shelby Kempel, and Taylor McRae all saw some action on the hill for UBC.
 
The 'Birds and Raiders will square off twice more tomorrow beginning at 11:00 a.m. from Collings Field.