KLAMATH FALLS, Ore. – Stymied for nine innings by Saint Xavier University ace Laila Summers, Oregon Tech turned to their trio of freshman starters to jumpstart a 5-run third inning rally, as the Lady Owls secured their fourth-straight trip to the NAIA Softball World Series with a winner-take-all 5-2 victory in the title game of the Opening Round bracket.
 
OIT (50-8) heads next week to the 10-team event in Columbus, Ga., as the No. 1 seed and will meet the winner of the Central Methodist (Mo.)-Baker (Kan.) match-up on May 25 at 1 p.m. (PDT)
 
"As I have said so many times, this team is just a great example of a team of ladies that really love one another," said OIT head coach Greg Stewart. "They are so determined to encourage each other and they get even tougher as a group when their backs are against the wall."
 
The Owls school-record 28th home win of the season took longer than expected, as Summers and the visiting Cougars (37-14) forced the second championship game by blanking Tech in today's opener, 3-0. The senior right-hander allowed just two base-runners – a walk to Addison Kachnik and a single to Nita Cook – retiring the final 14 batters in order.
 
SXU had 10 hits in the victory – breaking a scoreless tie in the fifth on a 2-out RBI single from Sarah Bowen. The Illinois squad added a pair of insurance runs in the sixth to back Summers' effort.
 
The trend continued in Game 2, as Bowen lined a 2-out first inning single to stake SXU to the early lead. Summers set Tech down in order in the first two frames, but the three freshmen at bottom of the order turned the tide.
 
Puakea Milbourne lined a single to right and Kachnik followed with a 2-strike single to right. Cook dropped down a perfect bunt, beating the throw to first to load the bases with no outs. Enter Zoe Allen, who hit a slow roller to third, with SXU third baseman Kaitlyn Wright flip home to catcher Lindsey Morgan a bit high. OIT pinch runner Maddie DeVerna collided with Wright, dislodging the ball from the glove, allowing the senior to score the tying run.
 
"I was really proud of how the ladies made some good adjustments at the plate," Stewart said. "Summers was good today. We focused on hitting the ball the other way in Game 2 and it was key to our third inning rally."
 
Kaila Mick delivered the go-ahead run with a slow roller to second, but a wild throw to first allowed Mick to reach and Cook to score from second to extend the lead to 3-1. Maggie Buckholz lifted a sacrifice fly – her school-record eighth of the year – and Lexi Klum lined a run-scoring single to cap the 5-run outburst.
 
SXU got a run back in the fifth on an Abbie Carr RBI single and made it interesting in the seventh. Singles from Haley Matlock and Lyda Robinson brought the tying run to the plate. Kachnik made the defensive play of the day – snaring a Nicole Lovato liner and doubling Matlock off second base. Following an Alexus Reese single, Tech starter Kacie Schmidt climbed high in the air to snag a Carr chopper, making the play at first to complete the victory.
 
Schmidt worked around eight hits to earn her 26th win of the season, with Allen and Milbourne each recording two hits for the victors.
 
OIT heads to the 10-team NAIA Softball World Series for the fifth time (2015, 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023) and their eighth all-time trip to the final site (1997, 2011, 2012). All games in Georgia will be carried live on 104.3 and 960 Sports with Mike Safford on the call.
 
NOTES
 

• Schmidt earned her 25th-straight victory in the circle, joining Sarah Abramson and Taylor Schmidt as the only OIT pitchers to win 26-or-more games in a season
• Buckholz broke Kennedy Jantzi's school record for sacrifice flies in a season with the third inning fly ball…the senior picked up her 65th RBI on the play, the fifth OIT player with 65-or-more RBI in a season
• The shutout thrown by Summers was the first against Tech this season (last shutout loss was a 3-0 setback to Science & Arts at the 2022 NAIA Softball World Series)…her 1-hitter was the first for an OIT opposing pitcher since 2015 (Cassie Jones of Auburn Montgomery)
• The victory was the Lady Owls 50th of the season, equaling the program record - their second-straight 50-win campaign
• Tech heads into the World Series with their highest seeding – as the 2021 team earned the No. 2 seed, the 2022 team was seeded No. 4, the 2015 team earned a No. 7 seed and the 2019 squad was seeded No. 10
• OIT and Science & Arts are the only return teams to the World Series, while Cascade Conference rival Southern Oregon returns to the tournament after a one-year hiatus