Oregon Institute of Technology Athletics

COMING UP: at OUAZ (DH), Thursday, 4 p.m.; at Arizona Christian (DH), Friday, 2 p.m.; vs. Embry-Riddle (DH), Saturday (at ACU), 1 p.m.

COMPLETE WEEKLY MEDIA NOTEBOOK
 
WATCH LIVE / LIVE STATS: Both the Thursday and Friday doubleheaders will be streamed online through the GSAC Sports Network, while an online stream of Saturday's doubleheader will not be provided. Live Stats of all six games will be available through OIT's SIDEARM Sports Portal.
 
OPENING DAY: Dating back to the 1994 season (OIT had a softball program from 1976-93, but have incomplete records from those seasons), the Lady Owls are 16-13 on Opening Day, including a 4-game win streak from 1995-98. Two times during the 29-year period, Tech has started a season at home – hosting Willamette in 1996 and Western Baptist (now Corban) in 2004.
 
EARLIEST STARTS: OIT will open the 2023 season on Feb. 2, marking the second-earliest starting date in program history. During the COVID-shortened 2020 campaign, the Owls began the year on Feb. 1 – dropping a doubleheader at Pacific University. Tech has played February games every season since 2005, with the latest starting date occurring in 1994, as the squad traveled to Humboldt State (now Cal Poly Humboldt) on March 20.
 
REGULAR-SEASON OUTSIDE THE REGION: The Lady Owls will make their debut in the Phoenix metro, playing their first-ever games in Arizona. Over the past 30 years, all OIT preseason games have occurred in three geographical areas – the Pacific Northwest, Northern California, or the Bay Area – with the exception of a 2017 trip to the Los Angeles metro to play a quartet of Golden State Athletic Conference teams.
 
OPPONENT PREVIEW – OUAZ: The season opens in Surprise with the first-ever match-up against OUAZ (Ottawa University of Arizona), as the Spirit (2-2) are coming off a 34-20 campaign. The 2021 NAIA national tournament team lost in the GSAC Tournament championship game last season but return group of talented returners including infielder Breanna Gonzalez (.321 2 HR 26 RBI in 2022), outfielders Mashayla Beltran (.282 0 HR 20 RBI in 2022) and Charlene DeAnda (.263 4 HR 27 RBI in 2022), along with top pitcher Alexandra McCutcheon (19-10 2.36 ERA in 2022). OUAZ opened the new year with a pair of doubleheader splits against Taylor (Ind.) and Benedictine-Mesa (Ariz.).
 
OPPONENT PREVIEW – ARIZONA CHRISITAN: Day 2 in the desert will see the Owls face an old foe, as Arizona Christian welcomes Tech for a doubleheader in Glendale. The Firestorm (0-2) are led by longtime North Medford head coach and Southern Oregon assistant Mike Mayben, with the team coming off a 26-21 season. ACU features a veteran laden line-up, including All-GSAC shortstop Claire Buckley (.459 12 HR 44 RBI in 2022), outfielder Jyden Miles (.387 1 HR 15 RBI in 2022) and third baseman Taylor Alto (.340 0 HR 20 RBI in 2022), with staff ace Savannah Smith (14-11 2.85 in 2022) returning to the circle. OIT is a perfect 4-0 all-time against the Firestorm, earning wins in 2013 and 2017, before sweeping a neutral-site doubleheader in 2021.
 
OPPONENT PREVIEW – EMBRY-RIDDLE: The trip ends with a neutral-site match-up in Glendale against Embry-Riddle, the reigning Cal Pac champions and 2022 NAIA Tournament qualifier. The Eagles (0-2) had their best season in program history a year ago, posting a 41-5 overall record before Southern Oregon knocked the squad out of the Medford Opening Round Bracket. NAIA All-America pitcher Vanessa Brink (22-2 1.37 ERA in 2022) is the anchor for the Prescott, Ariz., school, teaming with two-way player Mikaeli Davidson (.414 4 HR 29 RBI; 17-3 1.27 ERA in 2022) in the circle. The ERAU offense returns standouts Kate Delaney (.413 2 HR 27 RBI in 2022) and Diana Montano (.399 6 HR 28 RBI in 2022). The Eagles open the season last weekend, dropping a doubleheader to College of Idaho.
 
AGAINST THE GSAC / CAL PAC: Tech has had marked success against both the Golden State Athletic Conference and the California Pacific Conference – combining for a 157-77-1 mark. With the Owls playing OUAZ, the squad will have faced each of the current members of the GSAC (along with four other teams that have left the league for the NCAA), with their games against Embry-Riddle the fourth current member (of eight) of the Cal Pac to meet OIT.
 
TECH PICKED TO WIN CCC, RANKED NO. 7: Coming off a Cascade Conference regular-season title, a CCC Tournament title and a trip to the NAIA Softball World Series, the Lady Owls were the odds-on favorite to win the 2023 CCC crown – claiming the top spot in the CCC Preseason Coaches' Poll. OIT received six first-place votes and finished just ahead of Southern Oregon, College of Idaho and Eastern Oregon in the balloting – with all four teams ranked in the NAIA Preseason Top-25 Poll – Tech at No. 7, SOU at No. 10, C of I at No. 13 and EOU at No. 19. In all, the Owls will play 18 of the 50 scheduled games in 2023 against teams ranked or receiving votes in the preseason poll.
 
HOME SWEET HOME: Tech will open their 20-game home schedule on Feb. 24, hosting Corban in a 4-game series – with Carroll, Warner Pacific, Eastern Oregon and British Columbia making 2023 appearances in the Basin. Since the opening of John & Lois Stilwell Stadium in March of 2019, OIT has a 53-11 all-time record in the facility. Last year, the Lady Owls were near unbeatable, going 23-2 on their own diamond, the most home wins in a single-season in program history.
 
AROUND THE CONFERENCE: Cascade Conference softball opened last week, as College of Idaho posted a perfect 6-0 record in a tour of Arizona. This week, six teams (including OIT) open their season – as Southern Oregon and Corban each host Vanguard, Eastern Oregon travels to Pacific and Willamette, Bushnell meets Western Oregon, while Carroll heads to North Dakota for a set of indoor bubble games in the Minot Dome (facing Valley City State, Dakota Wesleyan, Minot State and Mary).
 
AMONG THE BEST: Heading into his 19th season at the helm, head coach Greg Stewart ranks No. 16 among active NAIA coaches with 645 career wins and is one of 18 active NAIA coaches with 600-or-more career victories. Stewart, the 8-time CCC Coach of the Year, ranks No. 18 on the all-time NAIA wins list.
 
NEARING 1,200 WINS: The Lady Owls are on pace to reach a milestone in 2023, as the squad looks to surpass the 1,200-win mark in program history. Tech heads into the new season with an all-time record of 1,185-633-2 – winning 65-percent of their 1,820 all-time games, including a 71-percent win percentage under current head coach, Greg Stewart.
 
RECORD BOOK: Five members of the Lady Owls open the 2023 season among the Top-25 of the career record book, led by Mckenzie Staub, who ranks No. 9 in wins (37), No. 12 in pitching strikeouts (215), No. 13 in pitching games started (46), No. 57 in pitching appearances (57), No. 15 in innings pitched (256.0) and complete games (18), No. 16 in shutouts (4) and No. 22 in hit-by-pitches as a batter (9). Kaila Mick ranks No. 4 in triples (11), No. 5 in hit-by-pitches (21), No. 7 in stolen bases (37), No. 16 in runs scored (119), No. 18 in defensive assists (194) and No. 20 in sacrifice hits (20); Maggie Buckholz ranks No. 24 in both home runs (14) and walks (41); Jayce Seavert ranks No. 4 in hit-by-pitches (22) and No. 11 in sacrifice flies (7); with Jensen Becker No. 19 in triples (5).
 
2023 POSITIONAL PREVIEWS: Full positional previews of the 2023 Lady Owls are available online – including recaps of the infielders, outfielders, along with pitchers and catchers.
 
LOOKING AHEAD: The Lady Owls will have next week off in preparation for their final non-conference trip – traveling to Redding for games against Menlo College and Simpson University on Feb 18-19.