Raider roundup: SOU completes CCC softball sweep; track and field, beach volleyball
Published 9:23 am Sunday, April 6, 2025
Sophomore Kierstin Grotewiel at the plate. Al Case / Ashland Daily Photo
Carson Le Bel competes for the Southern Oregon University Raiders. Al Case / Ashland Daily Photo
SOU (34-4 overall, 16-2 CCC) took the opener 8-0 in five innings behind Ayla Davies, who twirled a one-hitter and had a perfect game going before Miranda Scovil led off with a single in the Warriors’ last at-bat.
Corban (2-31, 1-17) hung on for a 9-8 victory in Game 2, where Scovil pitched the final 3 1/3 innings without allowing an earned run and left the potential tying run stranded at third base in the bottom of the seventh. The Warriors scored the first seven runs of the contest in the second inning – all unearned as a two-out SOU error preceded five consecutive run-scoring singles. Reagan McDaniel and Regan Rasmussen combined for five RBIs on two hits apiece.
Before the letdown, the Raiders kept pace with first-place Eastern Oregon in the conference title race entering the last three weeks of the regular season, remaining a game back in the standings. Davies’ 12th shutout of the season made her 20-2, and Brooke Nordahl went 2-for-3 with a triple, three RBIs and a run scored.
Faith Moultrie, who was 2-for-3 with two RBIs, drove in the first run of the game with an RBI single in the first inning and Ari Williams added another in the third. SOU scored four in the fourth and two more in the fifth to trigger the mercy rule for the third consecutive game.
In Game 2, the Raiders trailed 9-5 with two out in the bottom of the sixth inning when a dropped popup on the infield opened the door for a comeback. Kierstin Grotewiel and Avery Coffin cashed in with back-to-back run-scoring doubles to trim the deficit to one run, and Sarah Kerling led off the seventh with a single. Three straight groundouts ended their threat.
Destinee Estrada had three hits for the Warriors, who ended a 23-game head-to-head losing streak to SOU. Grotewiel, Kerling and Kailer Fulton each had three hits for the Raiders.
SOU is on the road next weekend at fifth-place British Columbia.
Carson Le Bel competes for the Southern Oregon University Raiders. Al Case / Ashland Daily Photo
Track and field
Carson Le Bel notched the national “B” standard in the pole vault, and the Southern Oregon track and field team walked away with five personal bests and four event wins Saturday at Linfield’s Jenn Boyman Memorial Invitational in McMinville.
Le Bel established a new PR by vaulting 4.87 meters (15 feet 11¾ inches) to become a provisional qualifier for the NAIA Outdoor Championships and land at No. 6 on the national performance list. He cleared the height on his first attempt to share the win with Oregon Tech’s Tyas Selby. Le Bel, a junior from Central Point, is coming off his second NAIA All-America performance in February at the NAIA Indoor Championships, where he finished fourth in the pole vault by clearing 4.85 meters.
Katherine Martinez also set a personal best in the women’s pole vault, improving the ‘B’ she’d already established to the NAIA’s new No. 7 mark of 3.69 meters (12-01¼). She needed three attempts to get over 3.54 meters but cleared the 3.69 bar on her first to top a field of 17.
On the track, Asher Tatsumi won the 10,000-meter race in a time of 33 minutes 9.68 seconds and teammate Logan Huffman finished runner-up in 33:12.66. Tatsumi, a senior from Newberg, secured his first collegiate victory by closing the last lap in 64.9 seconds.
Abi Stevens also had a day — placing first in high jump (1.68m/5-6), second in the 100-meter hurdles (14.98), and 10th in the javelin (32.62m/107-00) while setting season bests in all three events. The national champion is less than two weeks away from competing at Cascade Conference Multi-Event Championships, April 17-18 in Klamath Falls.
Kobe Johnson placed third in shot put with a personal best of 15.88 meters (52-01¼) and moved up to No. 16 on the outdoor performance list. It’s the senior’s farthest throw since his time with Lane C.C. when he posted a mark of 15.51 meters at the Oregon State High Performance meet.
Isaiah Hidalgo set personal bests in the 100-meter (12.02) and 200-meter (25.04). The distance events saw season bests in the 800 for Ashley Jentzsch (2:47.15) and Rafe Blandini (2:00.09). Jentzsch also set a season best in 1,500 (5:27.51).
The Raiders travel north again next weekend for Western Oregon University’s John Knight Twilight.
^ – NAIA ‘B’ mark; * – CCC qualifying mark
SOU WOMEN’S RESULTS
800m (38 total entries)
31. Ashley Jentzsch, 2:47.15 [SB]
1,500m (26)
16. Ashley Jentzsch, 5:27.51 [SB]
10,000m (6)
3. Mercedes Harms, 41:25.34*
100m Hurdles (21)
2. Abi Stevens, 14.98* [SB]
High Jump
1. Abi Stevens, 1.68m (5-06) [SB]
Pole Vault (25)
1. Katherine Martinez, 3.69m^ (12-01¼) [PB]
NH – Gabi Hansen
Javelin
10. Abi Stevens, 32.62m (107-00) [SB]
SOU MEN’S RESULTS
100m (88)
65. Isaiah Hidalgo, 12.02 [PB]
200m (82)
11. Trey Lucas, 22.89
71. Isaiah Hidalgo, 25.04 [PB]
400m (38)
2. Trey Lucas, 49.69*
800m (52)
15. Rafe Blandini, 2:00.09 [SB]
5,000m (31)
7. Trent Abraham, 15:59.80
10,000m (12)
1. Asher Tatsumi, 33:09.68
2. Logan Huffman, 33:12.66
400m Hurdles (21)
21. Rogue Newton, 1:20.44
4 x 400 Relay (11)
3. Heath, Blandini, Newton, Lucas, 3:25.71 [SB]
High Jump (16)
2. Carson Le Bel, 1.90m (6-02¾)
Pole Vault (27)
1. Carson Le Bel, 4.87m^ (15-11¾) [PB]
NH – Keith Sorenson
Long Jump (51)
8. JaQuieze Holland, 6.49m (21-03½)
Triple Jump (25)
14. JaQuieze Holland, 12.32m (40-05)
Shot Put (37)
3. Kobe Johnson, 15.88m (52-01¼) [PB]
18. Derrick Bennett, 12.33m (40-05½)
Discus (40)
17. Derrick Bennett, 38.09m (124-11)
Hammer (30)
12. Derrick Bennett, 37.93m (124-05)
Beach volleyball
Southern Oregon will enter the postseason on a program-best six-dual winning streak after closing the Cascade Conference regular season on Saturday in Caldwell, Idaho, with back-to-back victories.
The No. 7-ranked Raiders defeated Northwest (Wash.), 4-1, and No. 9 College of Idaho, 3-2, at C of I Beach Courts to cap a perfect weekend. They finished conference play at 12-3 and will bring a 14-7 overall record to the inaugural CCC Championship presented by U.S. Bank.
The four-team, double-elimination tournament will play out Thursday and Friday in Salem with an automatic spot in the NAIA Invitational Tournament on the line. As the No. 2 seed, the Raiders open at 10 a.m. Thursday against No. 3 seed C of I and play either top-seeded Corban or No. 4 seed Northwest at 2 p.m. or 4 p.m.
The Raiders finished off regular-season series sweeps of both NU (6-9, 6-9) and C of I (9-6, 9-6) on Saturday. They won four of five matches against the Eagles and the first three against the Yotes.
Three SOU pairs enjoyed unbeaten days: No. 2 Linda Conceicao and Grace Gulbrandsen, No. 4 Natalie Perez and Andressa Ribeiro Soares, and No. 5 Kendal Hadwick and Skyy Nihipali-Botelho.
Southern Oregon 4, Northwest 1
1. Caitlyn James/Kylie Lunday (NU) def Madi Gray/Tessa Zimmermann (SOU) 21-18, 22-20
2. Grace Gulbrandsen/Linda Conceicao (SOU) def Masa Spela Jarc/Aubree Dees (NU) 21-16, 21-17
3. Kira Sandoval/Lucretia Benolken (SOU) def Kylie Rankins/Ellie Van Berkum (NU) 21-10, 18-21, 16-14
4. Natalie Perez/Andressa Ribeiro Soares (SOU) def Sophia Rice/Oriana Muliaga (NU) 21-14, 21-12
5. Skyy Nihipali-Botelho/Kendal Hadwick (SOU) def Kali Dransfeldt/Ava Hoy (NU) 21-13, 21-14
Ex. Addison Weckerle/Vitoria Mattos (SOU) def Kylie Mickole Gajudo/Charlize Katz (NU) 21-12, 21-9
Order of finish: 2-4-5-1-3
Southern Oregon 3, College of Idaho 2
1. Haley Hoopes/Sydney Dews (CI) def. Madi Gray/Tessa Zimmermann (SOU) 13-21, 24-22, 15-13
2. Grace Gulbrandsen/Linda Conceicao (SOU) def. Deshy Sandoval/Greta Valaika (CI) 21-14, 21-14
3. Maya Blake/Liza Montalbo (CI) def. Kira Sandoval/Lucretia Benolken (SOU) 21-19, 16-21, 15-11
4. Andressa Ribeiro Soares/Natalie Perez (SOU) def. Faith Faucher/Ellie Baker (CI) 16-21, 21-16, 15-13
5. Skyy Nihipali-Botelho/Kendal Hadwick (SOU) def. Lauren Gauna/Dariya Tlevlessova (CI) 21-14, 21-16
Ex. Addison Weckerle/Vitoria Mattos (SOU) def Lainey Keppur/Manya Hoffner (CI) 21-16, 21-15
Order of finish: 2-4-5-1-3
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