SPRINGFIELD, Ore. – Two rain delays and wet conditions did not hamper Oregon Tech, as the No. 1-ranked Lady Owls completed a 4-game weekend sweep at Bushnell, earning 11-3 and 8-3 victories at Rich Schwab Field.
OIT (30-5, 19-1 CCC) extended their win streak to 18 games – their fourth longest in program history (19-game streak in 2002, 20-game streaks in 2021 and 2022) – while extending a streak of games allowing three earned runs or fewer to 21.
The Owls combined for 17 hits in the Game 1 win – as 12 different players had at least one knock – while
Mckenzie Staub struck out a career-high 11 batters in the Game 2 victory.
The two wins secured OIT's 23rd 30-win season in program history and 12th-straight 30-win season (not including the 2020 COVID shortened campaign). The Owls became the first Cascade Conference team to clinch a spot in the 6-team CCC Championships, their 12th-straight postseason appearance.
The host Beacons (7-24, 4-13) struck in the first inning of the opener, as Madison Streelman tripled and scored on a Hannah Tennant base hit – but Tech responded following a rain delay in the third.
Maggie Buckholz tied the game with an RBI triple and scored on a
Jayce Seavert squeeze bunt to give the visitors a 2-1 lead.
Tech broke the game wide open in the fourth – batting around for seven runs. The first seven batters in the inning recorded hits – as singles from Addision Kachnik,
Nita Cook and
Zoe Allen loaded the bases.
Kaila Mick singled home a run and Buckholz cleared the bases with a 3-run triple. Seavert, Cook and
Maddie DeVerna all added RBI singles in the flurry.
BU cut the margin to 9-3 in the bottom of the inning, but OIT added RBI singles from Seavert and
Olivia Sprague in the fifth to close out the win.
Kacie Schmidt battled the elements for her 14th-straight win, with Allen, Mick, Buckholz, Seavert and Cook all recording two hits.
Staub was dominant in the non-conference game, holding the Beacons to four hits and two runs in six-strong inning, recording the third double-digit strikeout game of her career.
Tech loaded the bases on three walks to start Game 2, with a
Lexi Klum sacrifice fly, a Staub RBI single and a third run off a throwing error giving the Owls a 3-0 lead. OIT would add a 5-run third to take an 8-1 lead, as
Marla Goodspeed roped an RBI single and both Allen and Mick lined 2-out, 2-run doubles.
Allen reached base in all four plate appearances, going 2-for-2 with two walks and two RBI.
The Owls return home next weekend for a key 4-game series against No. 25-ranked Eastern Oregon.
