SPRINGFIELD, Ore. – Bushnell Softball closed out their first weekend of conference play on Saturday, falling twice to No. 1 Southern Oregon University, 12-2 and 13-2.
 
The Raiders jumped out to early leads in both games that proved insurmountable as they scored eight in the first inning of game one and seven in the first inning of game two.
 
In the opener, Gabby Sandoval (8-0) struck out two batters and allowed two earned runs on six hits for Southern Oregon while Miranda Jensen (2-4) took the loss for the Beacons, striking one batter out at she went the distance.
 
Noel Balderston led the Beacons with two hits while Jordan Kuykendall provided two RBI with her fifth inning single.
 
Game two saw Sam Silver (0-1) go up against Hannah Stark for the Raiders. Silver struck out three batters in a complete-game effort, allowing just five earned runs. Stark struck out five, allowing two earned runs on five Beacon hits.
 
Alyssa Ferreira went 2-for-3 for the Beacons with a run and an RBI.
 
The Beacons victimized themselves with six errors in the double-header.
 
After the game, head coach Katie Duroe said, "Our pitching staff produced a lot of great balls for our defense and our defense didn't do a great job having their backs. We made a lot of uncharacteristic mental and physical errors this series and that was definitely frustrating.
 
"We are a young team and during game one I looked out and we only had two returners on the field. Our coaching staff has a plan for this week with increasing our intensity and our accountability to prepare us for our next series. I believe in this team and I know we will learn from this series and be better."
 
Bushnell will head to Klamath Falls next weekend, taking on Oregon Tech for four games beginning with a double-header on Friday at 1:00 pm.