Raiders hold 3-0 lead behind Kila home run, stand 3 outs from advancing at NAIA Softball World Series

COLUMBUS, Ga. — Tuesday’s suspended NAIA World Series game between Southern Oregon and Georgia Gwinnett will resume at 8 a.m. Pacific on Wednesday at the South Commons Softball Complex, the national office announced.

The Raiders led 3-0 in the middle of the seventh inning, three outs away from their fourth consecutive elimination-game victory, when play was halted by severe weather. They broke a scoreless tie in the top of the sixth, where Kennedy Kila took All-American pitcher Annalise Jarvis deep over the left-field fence for a three-run home run.

The rest of the remaining World Series schedule was adjusted, too. The SOU-GGC winner will face Eastern Oregon approximately 45 minutes after the conclusion of the suspended game, and whoever gets out of that matchup will move on to play Oklahoma City in the championship round at 12 p.m.

Oklahoma City, still unbeaten in the double-elimination tournament, will get two chances to win one game in the championship round. If necessary, the second game will be played on Thursday at a time yet to be announced.

At the time lightning struck and forced the automatic stoppage on Tuesday, SOU pitcher Ayla Davies was rolling. She’d allowed three hits over six shutout innings with 10 strikeouts. The freshman fanned the first seven batters she faced.

The Raiders are attempting to become the first team since 2002 to lose their first game of the tournament and still advance to the final.