SPRINGFIELD, Ore. –
Kacie Schmidt tied a career-high with 12 strikeouts in a 2-hit shutout, while
Mckenzie Staub followed with a 1-hitter, as No. 1-ranked Oregon Tech ran their win streak to 16 games, sweeping Bushnell University, 5-0 and 6-2, at Rich Schwab Field.
Freshmen
Addison Kachnik and
Nita Cook went 2-for-3 in the Game 1 victory, while the top three hitters in the Lady Owls (28-5, 18-1 CCC) order finished 7-for-12 in the Game 2 win.
"This was a good day for us, getting a couple wins on the road after a quick turnaround," said OIT head coach
Greg Stewart. "Our pitchers threw great and we got some big hits from the bottom of our order."
After two scoreless innings, Tech broke through in the third – as Kachnik led off with a double and scored on a Cook RBI single. Cook would steal second and eventually score on a Beacons (7-22, 4-12) error. The Owls would double the lead in the sixth as
Kaila Mick was hit by a pitch, stole second and eventually scored on a
Jayce Seavert sacrifice fly. Later in the frame,
Lexi Klum gapped her seventh triple of the season – one off the single-season school record – scoring
Maggie Buckholz, who reached on a walk.
Schmidt did the rest, limiting BU to two singles to earn her 14th win of the season – extending a scoreless inning streak to 24.1 innings.
In the nightcap, OIT plated five first inning runs and never looked back.
Zoe Allen, Mick and Buckholz loaded the bases with singles, with Seavert following with a 2-run single. With 2-outs, Staub roped a 2-run triple and Kachnik capped the frame with an RBI single.
The Beacons scored their lone runs in the bottom of the inning – taking advantage of two OIT errors to plate two – including a Hannah Tennant sacrifice fly. However, Staub kept BU off balance – working around five walks and a sixth inning Madison Steelman bunt single – to earn her 13th win of the year.
Allen was 3-for-4, with Mick and Buckholz each going 2-for-4 in the Game 2 win for the Lady Owls.
The two teams close out the series tomorrow with an 11 a.m. doubleheader.
