KLAMATH FALLS, Ore. – Senior Day magic for Oregon Tech netted the squad their first outright Cascade Conference softball title since 2015, as the Lady Owls swept a doubleheader from Bushnell University at Stilwell Stadium.
 
The 8-0 and 11-5 wins for OIT (43-10, 25-5 CCC), coupled with an Eastern Oregon 6-2 loss at Carroll, handed the Owls the CCC crown – earning hosting rights for next week's CCC Championships and punching Tech's ticket to the NAIA National Championships.
 
"I can't put into words how proud I am of this team and these four seniors," said OIT head coach Greg Stewart.
 
Senior Sarah Abramson was dominant in the opener, surpassing the 200-strikeout mark for the third time in her career, picking up her 24th win, while OIT took advantage of 11 walks and four hit-by-pitches in the non-conference finale.
 
Tech took a 3-0 lead after two innings in Game 1, cashing in on a trio of errors by the Beacons (15-33, 11-19). The lead grew to 7-0 in the third, thanks to a Mckenzie Staub RBI single, a sacrifice fly from Lexi Klum and a key two-run double from senior Aubrie Businger. Jayce Seavert added an RBI single in the fourth to put the game away.
 
Seavert was 2-for-3 in the win for OIT, while Alyssa Ferreira had a pair of hits for Bushnell.
 
OIT capitalized on the wildness of the Beacons pitching staff in the nightcap – plating 11 runs, despite recording just five hits.
 
Senior Kennedy Jantzi opened the scoring in the first with a long 3-run home run, her 11th of the year, however, BU took advantage of two OIT errors in the third to cut the margin to 3-2 on a Annibel Mendez RBI single.
 
The host extended the lead to 10-2 in the fourth, as Businger delivered a 2-run single, two runs scored on bases loaded walks and two more on a Beacons error.
 
BU kept the game going with a 3-run fifth, as Mendez golfed a 2-run homer over the centerfield wall and added another run on an Owls error.
 
Kacie Schmidt came in and slammed the door for OIT, retiring all six batters in relief of Staub, who earned her 16th win. Maggie Buckholz capped the scoring with her fourth home run of the season, an opposite-field drive in the sixth.
 
It marked the final home regular-season games for Abramson, Jantzi, Businger and McKenna Armantrout. Abramson drew a bases-loaded walk in her first at bat of 2022, while Armantrout walked four times in Game 2. With the NAIA bid secured, Abramson and Armantrout will play in their fourth-straight national tournament, while Businger and Jantzi helped the Owls to the national title game in 2021.
 
"I want to say thanks for all the support we get from the families of these players and this amazing community," Stewart said. "I also want to say a special thanks to my two assistant coaches, Jamie LeVeque and Bobby Mick."
 
The CCC Championships, presented by U.S. Bank, will run next Friday through Sunday – with game times Friday set for 9 a.m. (College of Idaho vs. British Columbia) and 11:30 a.m. (Eastern Oregon vs. Corban) OIT will begin defense of their 2021 tourney title at 2 p.m. against the C of I-UBC winner, while Southern Oregon faces the EOU-Corban winner at 4:30 p.m.  Four games will be played on Saturday, with the championship round set for Sunday.
 
Complete tournament information will be available this week at OregonTechOwls.com.