Aaliyah Oliver

@SOURaiders @SOU_Softball

Welcome to installment #26 in “The Whole Picture” in which I present the uncropped, higher resolution version of a photo that SOURaiders.com has published. For prior editions click here. For higher resolution click on the photo before saving. As always, photos are best viewed on a big screen rather than a cell phone.

Some of you may have found your way here through the link on souraiders.com. I have had several people email me asking questions about buying prints or about finding all of my photos for a certain sport.

The photos I post here are a small fraction of the photos I actually have. If you would like to print any of the photos on Ashland Daily Photo, you are welcome to do so at no charge. Be sure to click on the photo to get to the higher resolution size which will print with more quality. If you want to use them on the web (Facebook, Twitter, etc.), you are welcome to do so if you link back to traveljapanblog.com/ashland in the description of the photo. If you are using the photo in a newspaper or magazine, please credit “Al Case, Ashland Daily Photo”.

If you would like me to search through all of my photos and send you photos of the particular athlete you are looking for I charge a reasonable fee for the time it takes me to find all of those photos and to process them for you. I do not normally sell prints. I email you the high quality electronic files in .jpg format, and you can do the printing and framing yourself through a local or online service. My email is on this page or you can comment (leave a reply) to a blog entry to communicate.

To find all of my photos for a particular sport, use the following links. Click on “Older Entries” near the bottom-left of each page to view more photos.
football
basketball
softball
volleyball
soccer
wrestling
track and field

Posted on May 31st, 2016 under people. Tags: aaliyah oliver, Raider Athletics, softball, sports photography, the whole picture. Comments Off on The Whole Picture (26)

Cheridan Hawkins

Cheridan Hawkins’ career at Oregon came to an end yesterday after four stellar seasons. By the end of Saturday it seemed the #5 Ducks would be headed to the World Series again. With #1 Florida being upset and knocked out and the Ducks up 1-0 on UCLA at home in the Super Regionals, the odds of Oregon winning the whole thing looked possible. Then, Sunday, just two outs away from a trip to Oklahoma City, UCLA came back to win the game 2-1, forcing another game which they also took 2-1. The Ducks outscored the Bruins 10-5 in the series, and Oregon won the regular-season Pac-12 title, but neither of those things mattered. UCLA is moving on, and the Ducks are done.

Over four years, Cheridan threw almost 800 innings, struck out over a thousand batters, compiled a 1.66 ERA, a won-loss record of 108-20, and earned 17 saves.

Posted on May 30th, 2016 under outside of ashland, people. Tags: cheridan hawkins, eugene, Nikkor 200-400mm f/4 VR lens, Nikon D600, softball, sports photography, UofO. Comments Off on Ducks’ season ends without a trip to World Series

@SOURaiders @SOU_Softball @A_Dirty3

Details here. Watch at RedZone.

Posted on May 16th, 2016 under only in ashland. Tags: alexa gonzalez, Raider Athletics, softball, sports photography. Comments Off on Softball tourney begins

SOU Raiders vs Marian Knights sand sculpture

@SOURaiders @SOU_Softball

Tomorrow the Raiders and Knights will meet for the fourth time. The first three were National Championship affairs. While this one isn’t for a National Championship, it will still be a little sweeter game to win than one against a random opponent. And the winner may get a shot at a National Championship, but it will take several more wins after one on Monday to get that far. Game time is 11 a.m. PDT. More details here.

Posted on May 15th, 2016 under outside of ashland. Tags: football, NAIA National Championship Game Daytona Florida, Raider Athletics, softball. Comments Off on SOU vs Marian (part 4)

2016 SOU Softball Team

@SOURaiders @SOU_Softball

Strangely, Southern Oregon has to travel to Kentucky while Dickinson State (North Dakota) goes to Redding, just a couple hours from Ashland. SOU and Dickinson are only five spots from each other in the rankings so it doesn’t make much sense. Details here.

Posted on May 10th, 2016 under people. Tags: Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8G VR II, Nikon D500, Raider Athletics, softball, Southern Oregon University, sports photography. Comments Off on Deja Vu – SOU vs Marian

Kayleen Smith – 1st Team

@SOURaiders @SOU_Softball @Kelsee_R @A_Dirty3 @twyler_

The 10-team Cascade Conference announced the conference awards for softball this morning. The Conference Champion Raiders earned a large chunk of them. Details here.

Jessica Pistole – Coach of the Year

Kelsey Randall – Gold Glove and 1st Team

Victoria Mackey – 2nd Team

Alexa Gonzalez – Gold Glove

Tyler Burke – Honorable Mention

Sydney White – 1st Team

Posted on May 9th, 2016 under only in ashland, people. Tags: alexa gonzalez, Kayleen Smith, Kelsey Randall, Raider Athletics, softball, sports photography, sydney white, tyler burke, victoria mackey. Comments Off on Softball awards

@SOURaiders @SOU_Softball @Kelsee_R @A_Dirty3

After a near miss on day one, Southern Oregon went 2-0 on day two to earn a Sunday game.

The Raiders beat Corban, with an offensive explosion (16-5), for the first time this year. The other four SOU-Corban games weren’t nearly as important as this one so their timing was good.

If SOU can get by Great Falls Sunday morning (11 a.m. start), they will earn a trip to Regionals. They will then need to beat Eastern Oregon twice to win the tournament. It seems a bit unfair that the Raiders will have to win five games to win the tournament while EOU will only need to win four (and Eastern didn’t have to play Oregon Tech–a team they didn’t beat all season), especially since SOU won the conference and was the #1 seed, but, unfortunately, that’s the nature of things.

Alexa Gonzalez

Aaliyah Oliver

2016 SOU softball team

Abigail Lund

Amelia Hensler

Posted on May 7th, 2016 under only in ashland, people. Tags: aaliyah oliver, Abigail Lund, alexa gonzalez, Amelia Hensler, Kelsey Randall, Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8G VR II, Nikon D500, Raider Athletics, softball, sports photography. Comments Off on Raiders survive day two

Kelsey Randall tagged out at home after OIT catcher blocked direct access to the plate

@SOURaiders @SOU_Softball @Kelsee_R

… or was she safe?

SOU beat Oregon Tech this morning in extra innings to continue their season. They play again at 4:30 today (5/7/16).

The call above could have been the difference in the game though. The umpire ruled the runner was out without considering the obstruction rule. Here it is:

9.4.1 Obstruction is the intentional or unintentional act of a defensive team member that hinders or impedes the progress of a runner who is legally running bases, unless the fielder is in possession of the ball, in the act of fielding a batted ball, or in the act of catching a thrown ball.

Notes:
1. The defensive player must be in the process of catching the ball and not merely positioning, waiting for a throw to arrive.

So did the defensive player position and/or wait for a throw to arrive while obstructing home plate? You be the judge:

Oregon Tech catcher blocking (obstructing) home plate without the ball

Another odd thing about this play is (in the series of seven photos showing the entire sequence that I have) the umpire began calling the runner out (with his fist) long before the tag was made. The top photo is the last in the sequence, and it’s the first showing a tag. The umpire was opening his clenched fist in this photo. He had an “out fist” in the three photos prior to this one before the tag.

Posted on May 7th, 2016 under only in ashland. Tags: Kelsey Randall, Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8G VR II, Nikon D500, Raider Athletics, softball, sports photography. Comments Off on Out at home …

@SOURaiders @SOU_Softball

The 3-day double-elimination tournament begins today and runs until Sunday. SOU plays at 2 today. Even though SOU is the #1 seed, they will be playing one of the two teams they had the most trouble with–Eastern Oregon or Corban. They’d much rather play Carroll, Great Falls, or even OIT in the first round, but that’s not how things worked out. The Raiders need to win at least twice to make Regionals.

Posted on May 6th, 2016 under only in ashland, people. Tags: Amelia Hensler, Raider Athletics, softball, sports photography. Comments Off on CCC Softball Tournament in Ashland