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Raiders squashed by Simon Fraser By Joe Zavala Ashland Daily Tidings PORTLAND - The Southern Oregon University softball team knew coming into Thursday's Region I tournament that its best chance to swipe the title from heavily favored Simon Fraser was to open with two wins, including one over the Clan, and keep staff ace Brandi Brown's pitch count down. Neither happened, leaving the Raiders an almost impossible task: Ride Brown to three wins today, including two over No. 2-ranked Simon Fraser. Or else. In a major blow to their postseason plans, the Southern Oregon University Raiders were squashed 8-0 in five innings by Simon Fraser, pushing the Raiders to the brink of playoff elimination at Hunter Park. The loss followed a 4-2 first-round victory over Eastern Oregon, which Southern played again this morning in a loser-out game. To win the double-elimination tourney and earn an automatic berth to nationals, SOU must get by Eastern then upset Simon Fraser twice this afternoon in the championship round. Despite those seemingly overwhelming odds -- SFU is now 3-0 against SOU this season, outscoring the Raiders 22-0 -- the Raiders think it can be done. "They are ranked No. 2 in the country for a reason," SOU head coach James Gravelle said of the Clan, which swept the Raiders 8-0 and 6-0 back on March 30 in Ashland. "I just hope tomorrow we get the opportunity to play for the berth in nationals. Anything can happen, but the main thing for us to do is regroup, be focused and get ready to play Eastern tomorrow. I want a shot at being regional champions, but also I want a shot to play Simon Fraser a complete game the way we're capable of playing. I want to see it. It showed last year in our 1-0 loss (in the regional final). � If a team's going to beat us, I want them to beat us while we're playing our complete game, and then I'll be satisfied." Playing for the first time since beating Oregon Tech on Saturday to wrap up the first Cascade Conference title in team history, the second-seeded Raiders (28-10) were just good enough to beat third-seeded Eastern Oregon (23-14) in the morning game. Their return wasn't nearly as successful. Simon Fraser starter Erin Thomas worked her way out of a first-inning jam and cruised the rest of the way en route to a two-hit, complete game shutout, improving the top-seeded Clan to 31-3 on the season. Thomas struck out seven, walked one and rarely fell behind in the count, dominating the Raider battery from start to finish. As if that wasn't enough, Thomas also took out SOU's best power hitter, though not intentionally. Protecting a 5-0 lead in the fourth, SFU's hard-throwing junior drilled Raider senior third baseman Angie Chaplin with an inside fastball. The ball pegged Chaplin squarely on the left elbow, sending her to the hospital. Though X-rays were negative, the Raiders' biggest bat is doubtful for today's games. Asked about Chaplin's injury after the game, Gravelle got choked up and struggled to speak. Chaplin has been one of the team's leaders on the field and off since the program took off as a club sport five years ago, and is one of the three seniors -- the others being Brown and shortstop Latisha Inget -- who have played under Gravelle since Day 1. "Tough blow to us," Gravelle said, choking back tears. Brown got out of a bases loaded jam in the first inning but gave up six hits and five runs -- three earned -- in three innings to fall to 25-8. Simon Fraser scored three runs on four hits in the second to take what amounted to an insurmountable lead, the first coming on Thomas' solo homer to right-center. The Clan added two more runs that inning on a Haylee Rempel walk, a Jes Neilson single, a Cari Irwin bunt and finally an Erin Cumpstone single. Cumpstone's drive to left scored two and seemed to take the wind out of SOU's sails. "Don't think about the intangibles, just go out and hit," SOU first baseman Lisa Aitchison said, describing her solution to the Raiders' problems. "We just need to focus on hitting, that's it. Our defense will come, we need to hit." The Clan added two in the third, two in the fourth and one in the fifth to get within a win of clinching their seventh national tournament berth in nine years. Counting its drubbing of SOU and the 9-1 first-round pounding of Oregon Tech, Simon Fraser has outscored Cascade Conference teams 171-12 this season. "Confidence, we need more confidence," Aitchison said. "We're not used to pitches like that -- movement and speed. And we just need to adjust ourselves. We're thinking too much. Instead of over-thinking we just need to go out and hit." Brown and sophomore second baseman Haley Varley were the only SOU batters to hit off Thomas, with Brown breaking up the no-hitter to lead off the fourth. SOU was 2-for-18 at the plate as a team, while SFU was 10-for-25. Thomas also led the Clan at the plate, going 2-for-3 with two RBIs and scoring twice, while senior third baseman Shannon Rossiter went 2-for-2 with four RBIs. The afternoon loss overshadowed SOU's first-round victory in what turned out to be the best game of the day. With Brown on the mound the Raiders took an early 3-0 lead, only to see it cut to one on Beth Hull's mammoth drive over the center field wall in the fourth. Kendra Kohler scored on a throwing error in the bottom of the fourth to give the Raiders an insurance run, and Brown got out of a two-on, two-out jam in the fifth to zap the Mountaineer's last decent chance to score. "Overall, in that first game I'm very happy and pleased with the way we played as a whole," Gravelle said, "but the main thing is to not get complacent after we're up, especially against a team that we're 4-0 against -- now 5-0." Chaplin went 2-for-3 vs. EOU with a game-high three RBIs, while four other Raiders had one hit apiece. Brown was solid, allowing just four hits and two earned runs while striking out five in the complete-game victory. The Raiders will need a nearly flawless performance today to have any hope of advancing to nationals. Brown, who will probably pitch out the string, said she believes that can happen. "There's always a chance," she said while making her way to the team bus. "Tomorrow's another day." 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