ASHLAND, Ore. – A rematch of last season's NAIA World Series title game did not disappoint the fans at University Field, as top-ranked Oregon Tech and No. 8-ranked Southern Oregon split a midweek Cascade Conference doubleheader.
OIT (27-5, 13-1 CCC) jumped out to a 7-1 lead in the opener and held on for an 8-7 win, while SOU rallied from a 5-0 deficit in Game 2 to claim a 11-7 victory.
"It was good to get a split on the road today against another Top-10 team," said OIT head coach
Greg Stewart. "We hit the ball well, but just had a couple of bad defensive innings and our pitchers missed a few spots."
Sarah Abramson picked up her 16th win of the year in Game 1, working around five walks and three home runs, getting Lindsey Stripling to fly out to center field in the seventh to secure the win.
Tech took a 1-0 lead in the first, converting a double-steal, extending the margin to 3-1 in the third on a
Maggie Buckholz RBI double and a
Jayce Seavert RBI triple. A 4-run fifth pushed the lead to 7-1, as
McKenna Armantrout lined an RBI double and
Kennedy Jantzi doubled home a pair.
The Raiders (23-7, 8-3) used the long ball to get close – as Cayla Williams hit a 3-run homer in the fifth and Phelicity Fa'aita hit a 2-out, 3-run shot in the seventh to get within a run – but Abramson shut the door.
Armantrout had the lone multi-hit game for OIT, going 2-for-3, while
Kaila Mick scored four runs.
Game 2 started similarly, as an
Aubrie Businger RBI double in the first gave the Owls a 3-0 lead, with a Buckholz sacrifice fly and a
Jensen Becker RBI ground out extended the lead to 5-0 after two innings.
The Raiders answered in a big way – as Williams hit a 2-run homer in the third, while an OIT error in the fourth led to a trio of unearned runs – helping Southern build a 7-5 lead.
The Lady Owls got within 7-6 in the sixth on a long Jantzi solo homer – but SOU put the game away with a 4-run sixth inning rally.
Becker led OIT, going 3-for-4 with an RBI triple in the seventh inning.
The Owls continue a 10-game road trip this weekend with a 4-game series at Corban University.
