COLUMBUS, Ga. –Southern Oregon lived up to its nickname and raided the 2023 NAIA Softball National Championship as the fourth-seeded Raiders captured their third national title out of the last four championships, defeating top-seeded Oregon Tech 11-0 in five innings on Wednesday.
Southern Oregon went 4-0 in tournament play, outscoring its opponents 35-2.
The Raiders wasted little time in setting the tone for the title match with their Cascade Collegiate Conference rival as they scored five runs in the top of the first. Cayla Williams started the scoring with a groundout to short to push the first run across. Ashton Cathey followed with a three-run blast to center field, and Kami Klapp later scored thanks to an error for the five-run advantage.
It remained 5-0 until the fifth when Southern Oregon erupted for six runs. Riley Donovan highlighted the rally with a grand slam for her third home run of the tournament. The Raiders’ catcher also finished with a World Series record 11 RBI.
Oregon Tech tried to mount a rally in the bottom of the fifth a pair of singles, but a flyout to left to end the game and secure the national championship for Southern Oregon.
Williams took care of business in the circle and at the plate for Southern Oregon all week, earning her NAIA Tournament MVP honors. She picked up her fourth win of the tournament, allowing no runs on five hits and no walks with strikeouts. For the tournament, she went 4-0 and allowed only two earned runs in 23 innings pitched. She allowed 13 hits and seven walks and fanned 15. At the plate, Williams had two home runs and drive in 10.
Oregon Tech finished with five hits, and on three occasions, it stranded two runners on base. However, only one Owl ever reached third. That came in the fourth when Lexi Klum singled to put runners on the corners with two outs. Yet, a groundout to third squashed the threat.
Southern Oregon lined 13 hits on the night with five different players collecting two. Donovan, Deja Acosta, and Kailer Fulton each had two hits and two runs scored with Donovan finished with four RBI.
The Raiders led the 2023 tournament with a .396 batting average and a .594 slugging percentage. Southern Oregon tallied five home runs and 32 RBI in scoring 35 runs. The Raiders also posted a 0.61 earned-run average, all from Williams.
This is Southern Oregon’s third softball national championship, having also won in 2019 and 2021.
All-Tournament Team
- Cayla Williams, Southern Oregon
- Maggie Buckholz, Oregon Tech
- Deja Acosta, Southern Oregon
- Kaila Mick, Oregon Tech
- Riley Donovan, Southern Oregon
- Sarah Kerling, Southern Oregon
- Madison White, Central Methodist
- Lindzie Owen, Georgia Gwinnett
- Aliyah Rincon, Midland
- Abby Madere, Marian
- Savannah Harweger, Marian
- Sydney Wilson, Marian
- Makenzie Keatts, Cumberlands
- Morgan Radford, Cumberlands
- Carly Oliver, Cumberlands
- World Series MVP: Cayla Williams, Southern Oregon