Oregon Institute of Technology Athletics

COMING UP: at NAIA Softball World Series (Columbus, Ga.) - vs. No. 5 Science & Arts (Okla.), Thursday, 4 p.m. (EDT)
 
BROADCAST INFORMATION: All OIT games from the NAIA Softball World Series will be broadcast live in the Klamath Basin on 104.3 & 960 Sports with Mike Safford on the call. In addition, all World Series games will have a live pay-per-view ($10 per game, $35 tournament pass) video broadcast through the NAIA Network, while the semifinal and championship games set to be carried live on ESPN3. Live Stats throughout the tournament will be available through the NAIA's PrestoStats Portal.
 
TRAVEL INFORMATION: The Lady Owls left Klamath Falls on Sunday morning, taking a red-eye flight from Portland to Atlanta, before arriving in Columbus, Ga., on Monday around noon. Fans heading to Georgia can contact the Columbus Marriott (800 Front Street, 706-324-1800) for room information, as six of the 10 teams in the tournament are staying on the property.
 
WORLD SERIES TICKETS: All-Tournament passes are available online through the Columbus Sports Council through Wednesday for $50. Beginning Thursday, single-day tickets will be available for fans at the South Commons Softball Complex for $15.
 
WATCH PARTY: OIT will be hosting a watch party for the Lady Owls first World Series game on Thursday – inside the Campus Union Auditorium.
 
ABOUT THE VENUE: The South Commons Softball Complex and its adjacent Golden Park, were the host to the 1996 Olympic Softball competition and has been the site to the Southeastern Conference Softball Championships and numerous international softball tournaments. The stadium seats over 1,000 fans on the banks of the Chattahoochee River.
 
OFF TO THE WORLD SERIES: With their victory last Wednesday over William Jessup, Oregon Tech secured the championship of the NAIA National Championship Opening Round Klamath Falls Bracket and an automatic bid to the 41st Annual NAIA Softball World Series. It is the third-straight appearance for the Lady Owls at the event and their fourth appearance in the current 10-team format (seventh overall World Series appearance). Tech is the only team making a return appearance to Columbus, as the remaining nine squads from the 2021 event failed to qualify – including 2-time defending champion, Southern Oregon.
 
OWLS IN THE WORLD SERIES: Tech made three appearances in the then-named NAIA Softball National Championships – with the 1997 team playing in a 16-team, double-elimination bracket – losing their opener to Shawnee State (3-2), eliminating Georgian Court (8-0), before finishing in a tie for seventh after losing to William Woods (1-0). The 2011 and 2012 teams competed in a 32-team event, with eight 4-team pools determining an 8-team double-elimination bracket. In 2011, OIT was 3-0 in pool play, riding the right arm of Jackie Imhof to victories over Northwood (1-0), Midland (3-0) and Trevecca Nazarene (8-0) to reach the championship round, followed by wins over Lubbock Christian (7-1), Belhaven (4-2) and Cal Baptist (1-0) to advance to the final. After a 7-0 loss to Cal Baptist forced a winner-take-all championship, where Imhof tossed a 4-hit shutout and Jess Plummer delivered the lone run with an RBI single, as the Lady Owls won the national title with a 1-0 victory. A year later, OIT failed to reach the bracket, despite going 2-1 in Pool Play – defeating Madonna (5-2) and St. Gregory's (3-1), but a 5-1 loss to Shorter eliminated Tech. OIT made three previous appearances in the current 10-team World Series format, placing fourth in 2015, seventh in 2019 and second in 2021. The 2015 squad defeated Dickinson State (7-5) in their opener before being sent to the elimination bracket with a 7-0 loss to eventual champ, Auburn Montgomery. Tech battled back, eliminating William Carey (3-0) and Central Methodist (4-3) – the latter a record 16-inning game – before falling to Lindsey Wilson (8-1). In 2019, the Owls lost their opener to Mobile (3-2), before eliminating Valley City State (7-1), but had their season ended in a 5-1 loss to Georgia Gwinnett. In 2021, OIT was the lone unbeaten team remaining in the tournament after wins over Mount Mercy (11-5), Madonna (5-4) and College of Idaho (4-1), but Southern Oregon swept the championship series to claim the national title.
 
IN THE POSTSEASON: The Owls have secured a postseason berth for an 11th-straight (non-COVID shortened) as since 2002, OIT has claimed five CCC Tournament titles (2006, 2011, 2012, 2021, 2022) and 17 CCC regular-season titles (1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2001, 2002, 2006, 2008, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2022). Tech has received their 11th bid (ninth-straight) to the NAIA National Championships (1997, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022) – including World Series appearances (which started in 2013) in 2015, 2019, 2021 and 2022. OIT is now 26-14 all-time in the CCC Championships and 22-9 in the NAIA Opening Round.
 
OPPONENT PREVIEW – SCIENCE & ARTS: World Series play begins Thursday against 2018 NAIA champ, Science & Arts from Chickasha, Okla. The Drovers (50-8) have been a mainstay in the Top-5 over the last five seasons, riding an offense that is hitting .331 with 34 home runs, but ranks No. 3 in the NAIA with 200 stolen bases (in 217 attempts). The key to the USAO success is 5-time Sooner Athletic Conference Pitcher of the Year and 2-time NAIA Pitcher of the Year Emily Cerny (31-3 0.90 ERA, 43 BB 358 K), who ranks No. 1 in NAIA history with 141 career wins and No. 2 in NAIA history with 1,384 strikeouts. All nine mainstays in the Drover line-up earned All-SAC honors – including outfielders Mackenzie Ruth (.444 1 HR 30 RBI, 65 SB) and Shyla Clouse (.298 0 HR 12 RBI, 62 SB), who combined for 127 stolen bases. The left side of the infield is paced by third-baseman Amanda Moreno (.358 6 HR 57 RBI, 32 SB) and shortstop Sophie Williams (.309 2 HR 16 RBI, 18-5 1.57 ERA), while second-baseman Sierra Selfridge (.361 5 HR 42 RBI) and first-baseman Savannah Ashford (.273 6 HR 28 RBI) are key to the offense. Catcher Jaclyn Gray (.361 4 HR 36 RBI) is key to handling the pitching staff, with designated player Darci Chester (.307 8 HR 31 RBI) the top power threat.
 
AGAINST OKLAHOMA / SOONER ATHLETIC CONFERENCE TEAMS: It marks the second time an OIT squad has played a team from Oklahoma and the third Sooner Athletic Conference team the Owls have met. Tech earned a win in 2011 against then SAC squad St. Gregory's from Shawnee (school closed in 2017), while in 2012, the Owls faced Texas side Lubbock Christian, who was a member of the SAC before transitioning to the NCAA Division II.
 
UP NEXT?: A win for the Owls would give the squad day off on Friday, meeting the winner of Friday's game between No. 1-seeded Mobile (Ala.) and either No. 8 seed Grand View (Iowa) or No. 9 seed Tennessee Wesleyan. A loss, and OIT would meet the loser of Thursday's Grand View-Tennessee Wesleyan game on Friday at 10 a.m. (EDT) in an elimination contest. Mobile (51-2) has been dominant throughout the season and was the unanimous No. 1 ranked team in the final poll. The Southern States Athletic Conference champion Rams have a line-up paced by third-baseman Kaylee Pullen (.353 4 HR 55 RBI) and the pitching duo of Emily Butts (22-0 1.26 ERA) and Brinkley Goff (22-0 1.17 ERA). Grand View (45-10) makes the trip to Georgia after winning the Medford Bracket, including two wins over Southern Oregon. Catcher Kaitlyn Moses (.390 10 HR 51 RBI) leads the Vikings attack, while pitchers Hannah Pals (20-5 1.80 ERA) and Jessica Walljasper (20-4 2.37 ERA) are key to the Heart of America Conference champs. TWU (37-7) won the Appalachian Athletic Conference title and claimed the crown of the Bowling Green Bracket by defeating No. 1-seed Central Methodist twice. The Bulldogs are led by catcher Loryn Sherwood (.392 8 HR 45 RBI) and pitcher Cheyanne Strong (21-3 1.59 ERA).
 
REST OF THE FIELD: The opposite side of the tournament bracket has No. 2-seed Oklahoma City, champions of the Sooner Athletic Conference; No. 3-seed Freed Hardeman (Tenn.), champions of the Mid-South Conference; Indiana Wesleyan, Crossroads League champs; Southeastern (Fla.), Sun Conference champs; and Webber International (Fla.), the upset winners of the Hattiesburg Bracket. OCU is the juggernaut of the group, as the Stars (50-6) are making their 34th national tournament appearance and have won a record 10 NAIA softball titles. FHU (52-4) was eliminated in the Opening Round last year by College of Idaho; IWU makes their first appearance in the tournament since by knocked out on their own diamond by the Owls in 2019; both Southeastern and WIU return to the World Series for the first time since 2016, with TWU making their first-ever national tournament appearance.  
 
MOST WINS EVER: With their win over William Jessup in the Klamath Falls Bracket championship, OIT established a new school record with 49 victories – surpassing the previous mark of 48 set last season. It is the tenth 40-win season for the Lady Owls and their third consecutive 40-win campaign, while the 2022 season marks the 11th-straight (non-COVID shortened) season with at least 30 wins.
 
HOME SWEET HOME: Since the opening of John & Lois Stilwell Stadium in March of 2019, OIT has a 53-11 all-time record in the facility. This season, the Lady Owls were near unbeatable, going 23-2 on their own diamond, the most home wins in a single-season in program history. The current OIT team surpassed the 2015 team that finished the year 18-4 at home, while last season, OIT posted a 19-5 home mark. The 2018 team is the lone Tech squad to finish a home season with one-loss or less, finishing the year a perfect 12-0.
 
RECAP OF OPENING ROUND: Close games were the story of the Klamath Falls Bracket of the NAIA Opening Round – as OIT played three games decided by two runs or less – before finally breaking through for a 5-1 win in the title tilt. The Owls rallied from a 3-2 sixth inning deficit against Cottey (Mo.) in their opener, taking advantage of four errors to plate four unearned runs – the last on a walk-off eighth inning RBI double from Mckenzie Staub – in a 4-3 win. Tech moved into the title series with a 2-0 win over William Jessup, as Sarah Abramson tossed a 3-hit shutout and her battery mate, McKenna Armantrout provided the offense with a third inning 2-run single. WJU forced a winner-take-all title game, picking up a 5-4 extra inning win – hitting a 2-run homer with one out in the eighth – before a Jayce Seavert 2-run double keyed a 3-run fourth inning outburst broke a 1-1 tie in the championship, handing the hosts the win.
 
ABRAMSON REACHES LOFTY MARKS: It was a big Opening Round for pitcher Sarah Abramson, who continues to rewrite the OIT and Cascade Conference record books. The senior logged a pair of victories in the tournament, her 100th and 101st of her career – becoming the second CCC pitcher in history to surpass 100 wins. Abramson struck out 14 batters vs. Cottey, her school-record 24th game with 10-or-more strikeouts, while her final punch-out vs. William Jessup pushed her career total to 900 – just 11 off the CCC all-time record (911 by College of Idaho's Nickayla Skinner from 2011-14). Her 242 strikeouts in 2022 is a career-high, her third 200-or-more strikeout season, with her 28 victories one off her own school mark.
 
OUTFIELDERS KEY TO OWLS' SUCCESS: Production from the three OIT outfielders proved to be the difference in the Opening Round. Lexi Klum has been a force offensively in the postseason – going a combined 11-for-24 in seven playoff games – leading all players in the Klamath Falls Bracket with eight hits (in 14 at bats), with two doubles and three runs scored. Maggie Buckholz was a combined 5-for-12 with five runs scored in the Opening Round, including a 3-for-3 game vs. William Jessup. Zoe Allen is the only OIT player to reach base in all seven postseason games, going a combined 4-for-12 in the Opening Round, including a key RBI single in the championship win over Jessup.
 
SENIORS ROLL ON: The NAIA Softball World Series will cap the careers for seniors Aubrie Businger, Kennedy Jantzi and McKenna Armantrout – as the gold glove trio each made an impact during the Opening Round. Businger was 3-for-7 in the championship series vs. William Jessup and is hitting .357 over the Owls last 12 games (10-for-28) – while committing just four total errors in 133 chances (.970) at third base. Jantzi was 3-for-6 in the championship series – including a pair of RBI doubles – becoming the seventh OIT player to record 60 RBI in a season. She has been near perfect at first base, committing just one error in 384 chances (.997). Armantrout, the anchor behind the plate, had hits in 5-straight postseason games, while adding two walks and three stolen bases. She leads all CCC catchers with a .998 fielding percentage (one error in 403 chances) and has thrown out 34-percent of would-be base stealers.
 
STAUB COMES UP CLUTCH: For the second time in the postseason, Greg Stewart called on Mckenzie Staub – and for the second time, Staub delivered in a big way. The right-hander got the ball in the bracket title game, tossing a complete-game six hitter in picking up her 18th win of 2022 (her second-straight season with 18-or-more wins). Staub last worked in the CCC semifinals, throwing three shutout innings in a come-from-behind win over Eastern Oregon.
 
SEAVERT BREAKS RECORD, MICK NEARING MARK: The middle-infield tandem of Jayce Seavert and Kaila Mick are in record breaking mode, both in the midst of outstanding 2022 seasons. Seavert has demolished the single-season hit-by-pitch mark, as the second-year Owl has been plunked 19 times – more hit-by-pitches single-handedly than the combined total of the 2002, 2003, 2009 and 2018 teams. The second-baseman has a stellar .453 on-base percentage and leads the team with 12 home runs. Mick is fast-approaching the single-season runs scored mark, as her 63 runs scored is five away from the record set by Mckenzie Shrum and Kihana Brown. The shortstop leads OIT with 76 hits, 14 doubles, five triples and 22 stolen bases.
 
PATIENT AT THE PLATE: Thursday's match-up will feature the premier power-pitcher in the NAIA against an offense that strikes out the fewest time amongst all NAIA squads. OIT hitters have walked 186 times and been hit 66 additional times – while striking out just 104 times in 1,952 plate appearances – a rate of less than two total strikeouts per game. The Owls have struck out 5-or-more times in a game just five times, with the season-high of six strikeouts occurring at Southern Oregon in March.