Photo by Kayla Young
Designated hitter Bailey Price looks to connect off a pitch from Azusa Pacific during Saturday's game.

The Lady Raiders' busy schedule keeps the team focused on the conference season despite early tournament struggles.

The Southern Oregon University softball team hosted the school’s invitational tournament Thursday, Feb. 26 through Saturday, Feb. 28 finishing 1-4.

“Preseason tournaments are great because you get to try out different approaches,” said head coach Kim Fritts.

The Raiders and the Concordia University Eagles of Irvine, Calif. Kicked of the tournament with a double-header on Thursday night.

The Eagles took no time in getting to a quick lead in the first inning with a leadoff triple from first baseman Katie Carson, who later scored on an error from the Raiders.

The Lady Raiders came back in the bottom of the first inning with an RBI double from pitcher Jordyn Kurtz scoring center fielder Ricci Coultas.

The Eagles put another run on the board in the second inning when shortstop Alyssa Erickson reached first on SOU’s second error in as many innings. She reached home on a single by right fielder Brieana Eckel.

The Raiders loaded the bases in the second inning with singles from shortstop Justine Fulton and designated hitter Strohm Fouty. Three runners were stranded on base with the Raiders unable to get anyone across the plate.

Concordia pulled away in the third inning, scoring six runs on homeruns from catcher Carly Smith and center fielder Shannon Walton with the Raiders piling up two more errors.

“They are a really good hitting team,” said Kurtz. €�They may have just had my number.”

The Eagles added three more runs in the fourth inning making the score 11-1. Left fielder Kathryn Moy’s pinch-hit single and an Eagle’s error scored two runs for SOU closing the gap back to eight runs.

Concordia added three more runs in the fifth inning to make the final score 14-3 as the Raiders were unable to make a comeback in the bottom of the inning.

Fouty and Coultas lead SOU from the plate with two hits each and Carson of Concordia went 3-4.

Kurtz had seven strikeouts with a complete game and the three Eagles’ pitchers combine for six strikeouts.

The second game went in the favor of Concordia as SOU’s bats went cold. Moy had the lone RBI of the game-scoring Fouty on a fielder’s choice ground ball in the bottom of the first inning.

The Eagles took the lead back in a five-run fifth inning with two SOU errors leading to the final score of 7-1. Kurtz pitched another complete game with nine strikeouts.

With a combined nine errors in the two games and hit an abysmal 11-for-48, SOU struggled from the plate.

Southern came back against University of Puget Sound with their lone victory in the tournament.

Their bats came to life in the first inning scoring three runs. Moy had a RBI after two errors from the Loggers then later scored a run off a Kurtz triple.

The team’s pitchers dueled to the bottom of the fifth inning when a Moy leadoff single led to her scoring on a Puget Sound error, starting a five run inning.

“I had to make adjustments to the difference in pitching styles,” Moy said.

Fulton hit a two-RBI, bases-loaded single to score both second baseman Joelle Riekeman and right fielder Meghan Laughlin in an inning which the Loggers had two errors. Fulton and third baseman Justine Cooper scored later in the inning to make the final 8-0.

Fulton led the Lady Raiders hitting 3-for-3 from the plate and Kurtz had six strikeouts in the two-hit shutout.

“We played much better defense and came ready to play,” said Fritts. €�The intensity and focus was much better but there is still more to improve on.”

The Lady Raiders had nine hits and committed zero errors in the first of two Friday games.

SOU faced Azusa Pacific University for the second Friday game when errors and runners left on base came back to haunt the Raiders again.

A Kurtz RBI-double in the top of the first inning scoring Laughlin put the Lady Raiders up early as both pitchers had command of the game, until the bottom of the third inning when Azusa broke the game open.

The Cougars scored on singles from second baseman Nicole Llorens then first baseman Erika Marmolejo.

The Lady Raiders came back in the fourth with four runs of their own with Fouty two-RBI double scoring Riekeman and catcher Sarah Glennon, retaking the led 5-4.

The Cougars bounced back with seven runs in the bottom of the fourth inning with three hits, three walks, and two SOU errors.

Southern was unable to get any runs in the fifth inning as Azusa Pacific posted two more runs then to beat the SOU 13-5.

“We have some really good athletes and we just need to put it all together,” said Riekeman. €�We made a lot of basic errors.”

Fouty led the Raiders with two hits and two RBI’s while the Cougars’ hitting kept Kurtz to only two strikeouts as this team faced again Saturday in SOU’s final game.

Saturday resulted in the Raiders not getting their base runners across the plate. They left runners in scoring position on five occasions.

The Cougars scored in the first inning with a third baseman Natalie Mickelson double, getting right fielder Erika Navarrete home. Navarrete had a ground out RBI in the third inning adding to their lead.

The Lady Raiders left the bases loaded with no hits in the fourth inning off three walks and a sacrifice bunt.

Cougars’ pitcher Camille Hundley singled and scored in the fourth inning as they went on to add one more run in the fifth inning off two singles with a stolen base.

Southern left two more runners on base in the sixth as the Cougars won 4-0.

“We’re definitely getting a lot better but it is still an uphill climb to get up to the next level,” said Fulton.

No team went undefeated in the SOU Invitational Tournament. The Concordia Cavaliers of Oregon and the Concordia Eagle of California both went 4-1 tied for the best showing as the Cavaliers beat the Eagles head-to-head.

“I think this was a really good time to come together as unit,” said Fritts. €�I saw a lot of good things.”

The Raiders fell to 2-5 and 5 overall traveling next to Simpson University in Redding, Calif. On March 13 with their conference play scheduled to begin on March 27 against the Cavaliers at home.