COMING UP: vs. OUAZ (DH), Thursday (at ACU), 12:30 p.m. (MST); vs. No. 19 Hope International (DH), Friday (at ACU), 11 a.m. (MST); at Arizona Christian (DH), Saturday, 3 p.m.
COMPLETE WEEKLY MEDIA NOTEBOOK
GAME DAY INFORMATION: Live Video of Saturday's doubleheader at ACU will be available through the
GSAC Network, with Live Stats of both the OUAZ and ACU doubleheader, available through
OIT's SIDEARM Sports Portal. No in-game coverage of the Friday neutral-site doubleheader with HIU will be available, with no video coverage of the games vs. OUAZ.
MULTIMEDIA: Photos from the 2024 season, including the Softball Media Day, have been posted online via the
OIT Softball Flickr Page, while highlight clips posted online via the new
OIT Softball YouTube Channel.
OPPONENT PREVIEW – OUAZ: The Owls head to Arizona for the second-straight year and will open with Ottawa University of Arizona (OUAZ), picked sixth in the GSAC preseason poll. The Spirit (4-2) played three Cascade Conference teams to start the year, dropping two games to College of Idaho, before sweeping doubleheaders from Bushnell and Carroll - hitting .307 as a team in the six games. Pitchers Alyvia Hernandez (2-1 2.42 ERA) and Riley Shopp (1-1 7.45 ERA) have shared duties in the circle for OUAZ, with the trio of outfielder Mia Casadel (.579 1 HR 7 RBI), shortstop Brooklynne Esquibel (.400 2 HR 6 RBI) and first baseman Savannah Sutton (.500 0 HR 2 RBI) the top offensive standouts. The two teams split a doubleheader last year - the only previous meetings between the schools.
OPPONENT PREVIEW – HOPE INTERNATIONAL: Friday marks OIT's first Top-25 match-up of the season, facing California's Hope International, ranked No. 19 in the NAIA preseason poll. The Royals (6-1) had a banner 2023 season, reaching the championship game of the San Antonio Opening Round Bracket, dropping the title game to Our Lady of the Lake. First-team All-America pitcher Allie Puente (4-1 0.00 ERA, 48 K in 29 IP) returns after a 30-win season, having struck out 20 batters in a recent perfect game win over La Sierra - with HIU allowing just one run this season through seven games. All-GSAC first baseman Emma McCraw (.625 1 HR 6 RBI) leads the offense, with outfielder Samantha Villanueva (.333 0 HR 6 RBI) and second baseman Asa Chacon (.409 0 HR 3 RBI) part of an offense hitting .311. The two teams met in single games in 2010 and 2015, with the clubs splitting a 2019 doubleheader - as Tech holds a 3-1 series lead.
OPPONENT PREVIEW – ARIZONA CHRISTIAN: The trip to the desert ends at Arizona Christian, as the Firestorm (6-0) are off to an unbeaten start - including a doubleheader sweep of College of Idaho. ACU, coming off a 34-17 season a year ago, has relied on All-GSAC pitcher Savannah Smith (3-0 0.62 ERA, 23 K in 22.1 IP) in the early season, as the team has a solid 0.94 ERA and holding foes to a .217 batting average. The trio of second baseman Jyden Miles (.500 0 HR 2 RBI), catcher Miranda Hipolito (.421 1 HR 6 RBI) and third baseman Dayna Herrera (.385 0 HR 5 RBI) lead an offense hitting at a .303 clip. The teams first met in 2013, while they play a doubleheader for the third time in the last four seasons - with OIT winning five of the six meetings.
HISTORY VS. THE GSAC: All three games in Arizona will be against teams from the Golden State Athletic Conference, with the Lady Owls 40-21 all-time against the six current softball playing members (ACU, OUAZ, HIU, Vanguard, Jessup, Menlo). OIT has an all-time record against the GSAC of 61-40 – including games against former members Azusa Pacific, Biola, Concordia-Irvine, Cal Baptist, Point Loma and San Diego Christian.
STEWART WINS NO. 700 AS LADY OWLS SWEEP PACIFIC: OIT opened the season with a pair of run-rule wins – 10-1 and 17-1 victories over Pacific, their biggest season-opening win since a 14-0 win over Lewis & Clark in 2005. The Game 1 victory marked win No. 700 in head coach
Greg Stewart's career – the most wins in Cascade Conference history and No. 13 on the current NAIA wins list. The Lady Owls pounded out 13 extra base hits in the two wins, posting a .481 team batting average and a .563 on-base percentage, while holding the Division III Boxers to one run in each game.
SENIORS PACE THE ATTACK: Headlining the Lady Owls offensive attack were seniors
Lexi Klum and
Kaila Mick – as both had monster doubleheaders. Klum was 5-for-6 with a triple, two home runs and seven RBI, scoring five runs – including her third career walk-off home run in the Game 1 victory (had walk-off homers vs. Northwest and Eastern Oregon in 2022). Mick was 4-for-6 with six runs scored, recording a double, two triples and six RBI, while fielding four defensive chances in poor weather conditions.
MORE WITH THE BATS: Eight of the 11 players who took an at bat against Pacific had multiple hits – including sophomore
Malia Mick, who finished 2-for-4 with a double and three RBI, her first career hits and RBI. First baseman
Puakea Milbourne was 4-for-6 with five runs scored, her fourth career home run and four RBI;
Zoe Allen was 3-for-8 with a double and three RBI; with
Jayce Seavert going 3-for-5 with a double and two RBI.
IN THE CIRCLE: The Lady Owls allowed just two earned runs in the doubleheader – as both
Kacie Schmidt and
Mckenzie Staub earned season-opening wins. Schmidt tossed six innings, allowing just four hits and striking out nine, while Staub went four innings, surrendering four hits and fanning six. Sophomore
Carli Moore pitched the final inning of the day, tossing a shutout frame.
OIT TOPS THE PRESEASON NAIA TOP-25: For the third time in program history, Oregon Tech has earned the No. 1 ranking in the Preseason NAIA Softball Top-25 Coaches' Poll, released in November by the national office. The Lady Owls were the unanimous selection by the 19 conference raters. Previously, OIT earned top-billing in the preseason NAIA poll in both 2012 and 2022, with the ranking the ninth time the Lady Owls have earned a No. 1 ranking. It is the Owls fifth-straight polling period as the No. 1-ranked team and the 20th-straight week in the Top-10. Interestingly, OIT was picked to win the CCC title in the annual league coaches' poll, but not a unanimous pick – receiving seven of the 10 first-place nods. Southern Oregon took two first-place votes and finished second, while College of Idaho took the final first-place vote and was third.
AROUND THE CONFERENCE: Eastern Oregon opened the year 3-0 in California, including a key win over Jessup, while College of Idaho finished a trip to Arizona with a 5-3 mark. Providence went to North Dakota and split four games in the Minot bubble tourney, while Southern Oregon dropped a pair to Jessup. This week, Corban heads to Sacramento to meet Menlo, Jessup and Westcliff; SOU travels to Western Oregon; Bushnell plays Lewis & Clark; with Warner Pacific meeting Pacific.
RECORD BOOK: Heading into the 2024 season, seven players currently sit inside the OIT career Top-25 record book (records do not include the 2020 COVID shortened season), led by
Kaila Mick, who ranks among the Top-25 in 14 categories – No. 2 in stolen bases (62) and triples (15), No. 3 in runs scored (194), No. 4 in hit-by-pitches (29), No. 6 in walks (71), No. 8 in hits (241), No. 9 in doubles (47) and in RBI (140), No. 12 in at bats (621), No. 13 in sacrifice flies (7), No. 16 in games started (187), No. 22 in sacrifice hits (10) and games played (187) and No. 25 in home runs (14).
Jayce Seavert holds the hit-by-pitch record (49), is No. 2 in sacrifice flies (11), No. 18 in RBI (110), No. 22 in home runs (16) and sacrifice hits (10), No. 23 in doubles (31), while ranking No. 25 in runs scored (106) and triples (4);
Lexi Klum is No. 5 in triples (11), No. 16 in sacrifice hits (11) and No. 20 in stolen bases (23);
Zoe Allen is No. 13 in stolen bases (33) and No. 22 in sacrifice hits (10); with
Nita Cook No. 16 in sacrifice hits (11). In the circle,
Mckenzie Staub is No. 4 in wins (62), No. 5 in games started (76), No. 6 in appearances (95) and strikeouts (358), No. 7 in shutouts (10) and innings pitched (444.2) and No. 8 in complete games (36); with
Kacie Schmidt No. 11 in shutouts (9), No. 12 in strikeouts (237), No. 13 in wins (32) and appearances (66), No. 14 in complete games (21) and No. 17 in games started (39) and innings pitched (250.0).
LOOKING AHEAD: Tech will travel to Redding for a Saturday (Feb. 17) doubleheader at Simpson, the first of two trips to California prior to the Cascade Conference opener.
