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- Subscribe - Contact Us - Rate Card - Place an Ad Valley&State Backpage O&E Sports Archives Classifieds Faith&Beliefs Obituaries Revels April 15, 2004 Raiders, Owls set to go at it By Jennifer Squires Ashland Daily Tidings Though the quick trip the Raider softball team makes to Klamath Falls on Friday probably won't be the make it-or-break it moment in Southern's so far stellar season, it's bound to be a good game. Southern Oregon University Sophomore Leann Foster swings at a pitch against Patten University, April 1 in Ashland. Satsuki Doi | Ashland Daily Tidings After all, it is a double header versus archival Oregon Tech that, if weather reports are correct, will be played against a chilling wind. "It'll be cold and nasty out there, but we'll play," said first-year SOU head coach Larry Binney. "We're up four games in the loss column right now." Southern Oregon (25-3 overall, 10-1 Cascade Conference) rates No. 1 in the Cascade Conference, four games ahead of Oregon Tech (17-5, 7-5) and Western Baptist in league standings. However, the Raiders had their 17-game winning streak cut off when Eastern Oregon University spilt a double-header against SOU on Sunday. The Mountaineers started off strong against Southern and went on to ruin the program-record for consecutive wins. The Raiders want to redeem themselves. "It's going to be tough," said junior Raider outfielder Seanna Doyel. "It's a battle of the birds every year, just like they say. They're definitely one of our top competitors." Although Southern lost its last game, the girls are confident in their skills and feel like they've really come together. "I just think that we've all pretty much finally become comfortable with the lineup," Doyel said. "We're starting to feed off of each other." Last weekend, the Raiders recorded four home runs - the first the team has knocked out this season. "Right now we're hitting the ball pretty well and we're hitting those long balls," Binney said. Come Friday, Southern hopes to better-execute short, strategic plays at the plate while keeping the Owls from taking advantage of the infield. "We've got to bunt the ball better," Binney said. "And we've got to defend the bunt better." Though Southern leads the OIT softball team all-time - the Raiders are 3-1 against Oregon Tech this season and 8-4 going back to May of 2002 - nabbing two more conference victories on Friday and adding to their first-place CCC lead would be a perfect entry into non-conference home games on Saturday and Sunday. "By now they know we have speed and we play a lot of short games," Doyel said. "We have to make sure we're on, we're playing our 'A' game. We're bringing it." DailyTidings.com Home Page Valley&State | Backpage | O&E | Sports | Archives | Weather | Classifieds Columnists | Faith&Beliefs | Obituaries | Revels | Subscribe | Contact Us Copyright 2004 Ashland Daily Tidings and Ottaway Newspapers All Rights Reserved Click Here Site Search: .:Advertisements:. RESOURCES - Mail Tribune News - ODOT Road Cams