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57 °F Forecast | Road Cams Thursday, May 5, 2005 Today's News | Shop Our Valley | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery | Contact Us SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion Tempo AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map SPECIAL SECTIONS Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Menu Guide How To Guide Health Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Real Estate Guide Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Wedding Guide Passport to the Rogue Valley SHOP OUR VALLEY AutoFinder HomeFinder JobFinder Classified Place an ad TOP JOBS EXTRA Ashland News NIE Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People Volunteer Moving here? eSouthernOregon CUSTOMER SERVICE FAQ's Advertise with us Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend May 5, 2005 OIT halts Raider win streak ASHLAND — The Oregon Institute of Technology softball team halted Southern Oregon University’s 15-game win streak, but the 25th-ranked Raiders moved within a victory from sealing a third consecutive Cascade Conference championship by salvaging a doubleheader Wednesday. The second-place Owls (29-12, 13-8 CC) made the circuit-leading Raiders (33-16, 16-5) sweat with a 9-7 Game 1 triumph, but SOU bumped its standings lead back to three (with four league games remaining) with a 3-2 Game 2 victory. Southern would clinch the title and secure hosting rights for the four-team NAIA Region I tournament with a single win Friday in a doubleheader at Concordia University. In Game 1, the Techsters became the first league team to topple the Raiders in Ashland in 17 circuit-counters since May 1, 2004. The Klamath Falls squad also snapped an 11-game home win streak dating back to April 9 and extinguished ace pitcher Miranda Gillaspie’s school-record 13-game personal victory skein. OIT scored all nine of its runs with two outs against Gillaspie, who entered the contest 8-1 lifetime against the Owls but she only lasted five frames in falling for only the second time at home during her two-year career. The Owls raced to a 7-1 edge after three innings with key hits from junior Lisa Erwert (a three-run homer in the second) and junior Amie Mapes (a two- run double in the third). Advertisement Southern rallied to within 7-5 in the fourth following a bases-clearing double by pinch-hitter Alicia Caudill against Owl reliever Laura Delplanche. But Tech added two unearned runs for a 9-5 edge after five, and Delplanche notched her 17th win of the season only after a seventh-inning scare in which Raider junior Leann Foster doubled in two with no outs. With the potential tying run at the plate, Deplanche then enticed the heart of the Raider lineup — power hitters Amy Williams, Tanisha Burch and Natalie Nielsen — to either bounce out or pop out to second baseman Erwert. With Delplanche pitching, OIT erased 1-0 and 2-1 Game 2 deficits to pull even on a one-out, sixth-inning RBI single by all-star sophomore Amanda Doherty against SOU freshman starter Alicia Caudill. The Owls, however, left the bases loaded and relinquished its best chance to gain a doubleheader sweep when Raider reliever Julianne Cree struck out sophomore Kindel Thompson looking. After Gillaspie (19-6) held the Owls scoreless in the seventh, the game ended in anticlimactic fashion in the bottom half of the inning when Delplanche (17-9) uncorked a bases-loaded, no- outs wild pitch to allow Foster to scamper home. The errant pitch resulted in Delplanche’s third one-run loss to SOU of the year. Junior outfielder Kim Kraxberger tied a Raider record with six consecutive hits and raised her season batting average 37 points to .310 by going 3-for-3 in both games. Meanwhile, Foster finished 5-for-7 in the twin bill, and senior Amy Williams posted a 3-for-4 Game 2 stat line. Southern, which finished with a 4-games-to-1 edge in the conference season series against Tech, pounded out 25 hits in the two games, while sophomore speedster Kelsi Haylett accounted for three of OIT’s 16 base knocks. Mail Tribune Home | Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life | Opinion AP News | Archives | Site Map | Community | Classified Copyright © 1997-2005 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Website Feedback Free Music Downloads Conference Calls - $50/Month Home Security Systems Trunks, Footlocker, Trunk, Footlockers home equity loans helzberg diamonds Distance Education Diamonds Online Poker Auto Insurance Slippers Student Loans tcg student loan consolidation teleconferencing Website Design & Marketing Memory Foam Mattress w2 forms Mortgage Calculator Free Home-Loan Referrals Advertisement s