COMING UP: Host Cascade Conference Championships, presented by U.S. Bank – vs. No. 24 Eastern Oregon or British Columbia, Friday 2 p.m.
COMPLETE WEEKLY MEDIA NOTEBOOK
TICKET INFORMATION: Tickets to the CCC Championships are single-day tickets – with prices set at $5.00 for adults and $3.00 for students, seniors and veterans.
LIVE LINKS: All 10 (or 11) games of the CCC Championships will be streamed live on the
Owls Sports Network ($10.00 per game or $25.00 for a tournament pass). Mike Safford will have the play-by-play for Games 1-4, with Mike Garrard handling the call for all Saturday and Sunday contests. All OIT games will also be carried live in the Basin on radio, with Friday/Sunday games on
104.3 and 960 Sports and Saturday's games on NewsTalk 1150 KAGO. All games will have Live Stats available through the
OIT SIDEARM Stats Portal.
BACK-TO-BACK: The Lady Owls made history in 2023, establishing a new CCC record for league wins and tying the CCC record for fewest losses in a league schedule – as Tech finished the slate at 29-1. OIT recorded their second-straight and 12th all-time regular-season CCC title (1996, 1997, 1998, 2002, 2006, 2008, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2022, 2023), winning back-to-back titles for the fourth time (including 3-straight championships in 1990s). The Owls equaled the 2019 Southern Oregon squad that finished the year with just one loss and surpassed that Raider team that won 26 games en route to a national title.
HISTORY IN THE POSTSEASON: The Owls have secured a postseason berth for a 12th-straight (non-COVID shortened) as since 2002, OIT has claimed five CCC Tournament titles (2006, 2011, 2012, 2021, 2022). Tech has received their 12th bid (tenth-straight) to the NAIA National Championships (1997, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023) – including World Series appearances (which started in 2013) in 2015, 2019, 2021 and 2022. OIT is 26-14 all-time in the CCC Championships, 22-9 in the NAIA Opening Round and 18-12 at the NAIA National Tournament/NAIA Softball World Series.
OWLS EARN OPENING ROUND HOST SITE: OIT was selected as one of 10 venues for the 2023 NAIA Softball National Championship Opening Round, set for May 15-17. The winner of the 10 4-team brackets will earn bids to the NAIA Softball World Series in Columbus, Ga., set for May 26-31. The 40-team NAIA Opening Round field will be announced on May 10. It marks the second-straight season that OIT has earned a host-bid for the Opening Round and the third time Klamath Falls has hosted the tournament (2015, 2022, 2023). The Lady Owls defeated St. Xavier (Ill.) to win the 2015 Opening Round tournament, while defeating Jessup to claim the 2022 Opening Round title. Other Opening Round venues include Baldwin City, Kan. (Baker University), Williamsburg, Ky. (University of the Cumberlands), Henderson, Tenn. (Freed-Hardeman University), Lawrenceville, Ga. (Georgia Gwinnett College), Indianapolis, Ind. (Marian University), Oklahoma City, Okla. (Oklahoma City University), San Antonio, Texas (Our Lady of the Lake University), Chickasha, Okla. (University of Science & Arts) and Ashland, Ore. (Southern Oregon University).
STILL AT NO. 1: OIT will be the No. 1-ranked team heading into the NAIA National Championship, receiving 17 of the 19 first-place votes – the fourth-straight week the Lady Owls have been atop the NAIA Top-25 poll. Tech is one of four CCC teams in the Top-25 – joined by No. 4-ranked Southern Oregon, No. 6-ranked College of Idaho and No. 24-ranked Eastern Oregon.
HOME SWEET HOME: Since the opening of John & Lois Stilwell Stadium in March of 2019, OIT has a 74-11 all-time record in the facility – including a perfect 21-0 record at home this season. OIT holds a 22-game win streak on their own diamond – their longest home win streak in program history. Tech has posted a string of 11-consecutive Cascade Conference series wins at home dating back to March of 2021.
40-WIN SEASONS: The April 28 win vs. UBC secured the Lady Owls their 40th win of 2023 – the 11th 40-win season in program history. It is the fourth straight non-COVID season with 40 wins, including last season's school-record 50-win season.
TECH SWEEPS WEEKLY AWARDS: For the third time this season, OIT players swept the weekly CCC awards – as
Kacie Schmidt was named Pitcher of the Week and
Kaila Mick earned Player of the Week honors. Schmidt capped a dominant CCC season, going a combined 4-0 on the week – including a 3-hitter in a Game 1 win at SOU and a 4-hit shutout in Game 1 over UBC. The sophomore ranks second in the NAIA with 23 wins and ran her personal win streak to 22 games. Mick was a force at the plate, going 12-for-18, with six runs scored and four RBI, adding four stolen bases. The CCC's leader in hits (69) lined a go-ahead home run in the Game 1 victory at Southern, while extending her consecutive games reached base streak to 32 in the UBC series.
FRESHMEN KEY: The right side of the OIT infield had a big week – as
Puakea Milbourne and
Nita Cook provided big hits the wins over Southern and UBC. Milbourne was 8-for-17 with five RBI in the six games – including a go-ahead RBI triple in Game 1 at SOU. She extended her string of chances without an error this season to 299. Cook was 5-for-12 with five RBI, adding three runs scored and four walks – upping her batting average to .345.
SUCCESS FOR STAUB: It was a great week at the plate and in the circle for
Mckenzie Staub, as the All-American was key to the Owls six victories. Staub was a combined 6-for-16, with two doubles, six RBI and four runs scored – extending a hit streak to seven games (while hitting safely in 12-of-13 games). She added a complete game victory at No. 4-ranked SOU (her second win this season against the Raiders), while tossing a 4-hit shutout in the series finale with UBC – Staub's sixth shutout of 2023.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS: The Lady Owls have been dominant offensively, defensively and in the circle, as Tech heads into the postseason tied for the NAIA lead with 43 victories. OIT averages nearly eight runs per game and boasts a .359 team batting average – with the team smashing a single-season stolen base record (106) prior to the playoffs. Hitters have drawn the second-most walks (169) in the NAIA, with the team posting the best walk-to-strikeout (169-to-111) ratio in the association. On the flip side, OIT pitchers have a nearly 3-to-1 strikeout (301) to walk (104) ratio. Defensively, the Owls lead the CCC and rank No. 8 nationally in fielding percentage (.973), with Tech leading the NAIA in caught stealing percentage (throwing out 12-of-26 base-stealers).
RECORD WATCH: A pair of single-season records have been established in 2023 – as
Lexi Klum broke the 21-year-old triples mark of Meagan Webber from 2002 with a 3-base hit vs. Southern Oregon last Tuesday – now leading the CCC with nine triples on the year. In addition,
Jayce Seavert blew past her own hit-by-pitch single season record of 20 – heading into the postseason having been hit by a pitch 24 times. Others in the Top-5 of single-season categories include
Maggie Buckholz, who is No. 2 in sacrifice flies (6), No. 4 in walks (31) and No. 5 in triples (6), with
Kaila Mick No. 5 in single-season stolen bases (22).
TOURNAMENT INFORMATION / SCHEDULE: By virtue of their regular-season championship, OIT has claimed 1-of-2 automatic bids to the NAIA National Championships. The winner of the tournament (or tournament runner-up if OIT is the champion) will earn the second automatic berth to Nationals. A full tournament schedule and information can be found on the
CCC Softball Championships homepage.
SURVEYING THE FIELD: OIT will open tournament play Friday afternoon against either
Eastern Oregon or
British Columbia. The Mountaineers (31-17) have spent the bulk of the season in the NAIA Top-25 and are looking for a repeat trip to the NAIA Opening Round. EOU features one of the more dynamic pitchers in the NAIA, as lefty Kaylie Hoskins (18-5 1.17 ERA) broke former OIT ace Jackie Imhof's CCC single-season strikeout record, heading into the tournament with 285 strikeouts - ranking No. 2 in the NAIA. Eastern will play small-ball to their advantage (lead the CCC with 40 sacrifice hits), with the experienced combination of Maddy Stateler (.364 1 HR 17 RBI) and Caitlin Crist (.273 4 HR 23 RBI) playing shortstop and second base, with the big bats of third baseman Gates Leatherwood (.349 6 HR 27 RBI) and catcher Hannah Tyree (.348 6 HR 34 RBI) key in the middle of the order. The T-Birds (24-19) make a return visit to the Basin for the tournament after ending the regular-season with five games against OIT and SOU. UBC used a 12-5 record at home to earn a spot in the tourney, behind an offense that heads into the postseason hitting .299 and a pitching staff that holds a 4.03 team ERA. Shae Sever (.362 2 HR 40 RBI; 12-7 1.92 ERA) has been the go-to bat and arm on the year - leading the team with 19 extra base hits and 114 strikeouts in the circle. In addition, utility players Mia Valcke (.418 1 HR 20 RBI) and Keona Nordquist (.415 3 HR 36 RBI, 11 SB) are both hitting over .400 on the season. Both Lindsey Bell (6-5 4.88 ERA) and Shelby Kempel (6-6 5.45 ERA) provide depth in the circle for the T-Birds, who are making their fifth tournament appearance in the last six seasons. The opposite side of the bracket features No. 4-ranked and second-seed
Southern Oregon, No. 6-ranked and third-seed
College of Idaho and No. 6-seed
Carroll College. The Raiders (40-9) are no stranger to the tournament, making their ninth-straight appearance (dating back to 2014) and have secured their seventh-straight NAIA Tournament appearance (will host an Opening Round in Ashland). SOU leads the NAIA in batting average (.380) and runs per game (8.06), thanks to the play of 2022 NAIA Player of the Year, Riley Donovan (.474 18 HR 71 RBI). Both second baseman Deja Acosta (.412 4 HR 44 RBI) and first baseman Ashton Cathey (.333 5 HR 26 RBI) were All-CCC selections a season ago. Cayla Williams (.454 5 HR 43 RBI; 17-5 2.78 ERA) is one of the top 2-way players in the league, sharing time in the circle with Katie Machado (16-2 2.59 ERA). Coming off three-straight trips to the NAIA Championships, the Yotes (43-6) opened the season on a 15-game win streak and have been a part of the NAIA Top-10 throughout the campaign. C of I features the most experienced team in the field - using speed (117 stolen bases) and power (36 home runs) as part of an offense that averages seven runs a game, while the pitching staff leads the CCC in ERA (1.49). All-America shortstop Haley Loffer (.414 11 HR 38 RBI; 35 SB) and outfielder Hattie Hruza (.423 4 HR 48 RBI, 16 SB) are among seven seniors in the everyday line-up, while freshman Madelyn Powell (.430 5 HR 35 RBI) has had a banner year. The duo of Katie Wilfert (18-3 1.09 ERA) and Hannah McNerney (21-2 1.88 ERA) are among the best 1-2 punches in the circle in the NAIA. C of I is looking for their first title since 2013. The Fighting Saints (20-26) needed to sweep their final series with Bushnell to claim the final playoff spot, with the squad winning 3-straight games decided by two runs or less. Making their first postseason appearance since 2019, first-year head coach Shawna Juarez has a squad hitting .294 on the season and a pitching staff that ranks second in the circuit in strikeouts (307). First baseman Kaitlyn Ayers (.424 6 HR 27 RBI) leads the club in hitting, with outfielders Jessica Nimmo (.382 5 HR 26 RBI) and Amber Brewer (.301 4 HR 19 RBI) senior leaders on the team. Abby Hanley (5-13 5.04 ERA) has pitched the majority of the innings for the Saints, with Abbie Amend (8-3 5.60 ERA) and Kennedy Venner (5-8 5.82 ERA each seeing time as the No. 2 starter.
AMONG THE BEST: In his 19th season at the helm, head coach
Greg Stewart ranks No. 16 among active NAIA coaches with 688 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.
RECORD BOOK: Ten members of the Lady Owls currently rank among the Top-25 in the OIT career record book (which does not include games from the 2020 COVID season), led by
Kaila Mick, who ranks No. 2 in triples (13) and in stolen bases (59), No. 4 in hit-by-pitches (26) and in runs scored (175), No. 9 in defensive assists (270), No. 11 in RBI (127) and doubles (43), No. 12 in hits (224), No. 16 in sacrifice flies (6) and at bats (567), ranking No. 20 in sacrifice hits (10).
Mckenzie Staub ranks No. 5 in wins (56), No. 6 in pitching starts (71) and pitching strikeouts (336), No. 7 in shutouts (10), No. 8 in innings pitched (398.0), No. 10 in shutouts (9) and in pitching appearances (81), ranking No. 22 in hit-by-pitches as a batter (9);
Maggie Buckholz is No. 1 in sacrifice flies (11), No. 5 in walks (72), No. 9 in triples (9), No. 10 in RBI (136), No. 12 in home runs (22), No. 16 in sacrifice hits (11), No. 19 in runs scored (118) and just outside the Top-25 in hits (160);
Jayce Seavert ranks No. 1 in hit-by-pitches (45), No. 4 in sacrifice flies (10) and No. 21 in both RBI (103) and home runs (16);
Jensen Becker is No. 10 in sacrifice hits (13) and No. 17 in triples (6);
Lexi Klum is No. 6 in triples (10);
Kacie Schmidt is No. 12 in shutouts (7), No. 13 in pitching strikeouts (202), No. 17 in wins (25), No. 18 in complete games (15), No. 19 in pitching appearances (52), No. 21 in pitching starts (26) and No. 22 in innings pitched (181.2); with
Zoe Allen No. 13 in stolen bases (32),
Nita Cook No. 20 in sacrifice hits (10) and Maddie Deverna No. 22 in stolen bases (20).
LOOKING AHEAD: OIT will have next week off in preparation for the NAIA Softball National Championship Opening Round, May 15-17, at Stilwell Stadium.
