LA GRANDE, Ore. – Eastern Oregon stunned Oregon Tech with back-to-back walk-off wins, claiming the first two games of a weekend series at Peggy Anderson Field.
 
The Mountaineers (36-11, 21-5 CCC) pulled within a game of first place in the Cascade Conference standings with 4-3 and 3-2 victories.
 
"Tough losses today, but I know these ladies will bounce back tomorrow," said OIT head coach Greg Stewart. "We hit several balls hard right at them and have to tip our cap to how well Eastern pitched and played defense."
 
The No. 3-ranked Lady Owls (38-9, 22-4) had leads of 1-0 and 3-1 in the opener – as McKenna Armantrout walked in the first, stole second and scoring on a wild pitch. EOU's Grace Gaither tied the score in the fourth with a solo homer, but Tech answered with two in the fifth – as Aubrie Businger singled and scored on a 2-out RBI double by Kaila Mick, with Mick scoring an insurance run on an EOU error.
 
Eastern won it in the seventh, as a walk and two one-out infield singles loaded the bases.  Caitlyn Crist chopped a base hit through the right side to cut the gap to 3-2, with Madison Stateler singling home the tying run – but an OIT error allowed the winning run to score from third.
 
Amanda Smith held OIT to just four hits in the game, while Sarah Abramson fanned eight for Tech, but had her 21-game win streak snapped.
 
Both teams traded runs in the nightcap – as Gaither hit a second inning homer to give the Mounties the lead, but OIT answered in the fifth, as Zoe Allen singled, moved to second on an error and scored on an Armantrout single.
 
The Lady Owls took a 2-1 lead in the seventh on a Lexi Klum solo homer – however, Eastern rallied again. The Mounties loaded the bases with no outs, tying the score when Shelby Starr was hit by a pitch and won the game on a Crist RBI single.
 
Armantrout had two of the five OIT hits in the loss, with Mckenzie Staub tossing five-plus innings of 4-hit ball in a no decision.
 
The two teams close out the series tomorrow with an 11 a.m. doubleheader.