April 24, 2006

By Rich Rosenthal, SOU Sports Information

ASHLAND, Ore. - Larry Binney notched his 100th victory as Southern Oregon University's softball coach in a Raider doubleheader sweep of Cascade Conference rival Eastern Oregon University today.

The third-year mentor reached the milestone in his 134th contest: an exciting 2-1 Game 1 triumph, and the Raiders (22-13, 10-6 CC) defeated the Mountaineers (10-25, 5-11) for the seventh straight meeting and extended an overall streak to seven with a 7-2 romp in Game 2.

Senior pitcher Julianne Cree (9-6) won her team-best ninth game of the year and tossed a four-hitter to lead Southern in the opener.  EOU advanced runners to second and third base with two out in the seventh, but Cree struck out pinch-hitter Jessica Snyder with a wicked 2-2 change-up to thwart the Mountaineer scoring bid.

Southern went 3-for-15 with runners in scoring position and stranded a season-high 12, but run-scoring plays by Kim Kraxberger and Allesha Spradling in the first and second innings, respectively, eventually spoiled a solid outing by EOU sophomore hurler Kelly West (5-15).

In Game 2, Rose Baumann singled an scored to stake the Mountaineers to a 1-0 lead in the first frame, but the Raiders posted more than enough offense against freshman Stephanie Baumann (5-8) in the first two innings: four runs on five hits.

Freshman outfielder Deni Rowley and Megan Rock each extended hit streaks to seven games and combined for five hits, four runs and four RBI to spearhead the attack.

Rowley, who upped her league-leading season average to .455 with a 4-for-8 twinbill performance, came a home run away from hitting for the cycle in the second game.

SOU freshman pitcher Cat Cousins (7-5) earned the win by allowing one run on five hits over four innings, and junior third baseman amassed eight assists on the day.

Baumann had three hits in five official at-bats for Eastern Oregon, which suffered its fifth and sixth straight losses.  First baseman Meghan Henderson went 3-for-7, and freshman outfielder Hannah Kirk smacked her first collegiate home run - a solo shot - to cap the Mountaineer scoring in Game 2.