COMING UP: vs. No. 20 College of Idaho (DH), Friday, 2 p.m.; vs. No. 20 College of Idaho (DH), Saturday, 11 a.m.

COMPLETE WEEKLY MEDIA NOTEBOOK
 
GAME DAY INFORMATION: Live Video of the 4-game series with College of Idaho will be carried online via the Owls Sports Network – with Mike Safford calling the action on Friday and Mike Garrard calling Saturday's doubleheader. Live Stats for all games will be available through OIT's SIDEARM Sports Portal, with Friday's doubleheader to be broadcast on radio in the Klamath Basin on 104.3 and 960 Sports.  
 
OPPONENT PREVIEW – COLLEGE OF IDAHO: Tech closes out the regular-season at home, hosting No. 20-ranked College of Idaho, as the Lady Yotes (31-11, 19-4 CCC) are squarely in the mix for the CCC regular-season title. C of I has advanced to 4-straight NAIA Tournament Opening Rounds, including the 2021 NAIA World Series, returning a veteran group that lost at Baker (Kan.) in the 2023 Opening Round title game. The Yotes have won 8-of-9 – including a series win over Southern Oregon – featuring a line-up of sluggers Lolo Walker (.480 14 HR 44 RBI) and Madelyn Powell (.327 6 HR 29 RBI), along with outfielders Hattie Hruza (.345 1 HR 16 RBI) and Lexi Navarrete (.327 2 HR 27 RBI), as C of I leads the CCC with 37 home runs. Annie Polster (15-5 1.74 ERA) is the veteran arm for the Idaho school, with Grace Neer (6-0 2.55 ERA) and Abbey Brooks (5-6 3.67 ERA) splitting time as the No. 2 starter. OIT holds a 75-33 series lead, including a 35-12 mark in Klamath, with the Owls winning 4-of-7 meetings last season.
 
TOP-20 MATCH-UP: Both OIT and C of I head into the weekend series ranked in the NAIA Top-25 – the Lady Owls at No. 5 and the Lady Yotes at No. 20. It marks the 19th-straight polling period Tech has been ranked in the Top-10 and the 24th-straight week in the poll. The Owls are 5-6 this season against ranked opponents – with all 10 games against teams currently ranked within the Top-12 – and five of the six losses by 1-run margins.
 
PLAYOFF PICTURE: OIT and Eastern Oregon sit atop the Cascade Conference standings with three games to play – holding a game-and-a-half lead on C of I for the league lead. EOU holds the tiebreak on both OIT and C of I – with the Mounties clinching the crown and host berth for the CCC Championships with three wins at Southern Oregon. Tech can clinch the title with three wins and an EOU loss, while C of I would win the crown with a series win over OIT (and a win Sunday vs. UBC) and a SOU sweep of EOU. UBC is locked into the No. 5 seed for the tournament and Carroll has secured the No. 6 seed.
 
POSTSEASON STREAK CONTINUES: With their win on April 13 at UBC, the Lady Owls clinched a spot in the 6-team Cascade Conference Championships – their 13th-straight playoff appearance and their 28th postseason appearance in the last 31 years. OIT has advanced to 9-straight NAIA National Tournaments and made 4-straight trips to the NAIA Softball World Series. The CCC regular-season champion will host the CCC Championships, set for May 3-5, while the Owls have placed a bid to host the Opening Round of the NAIA National Championships, with the host selection to be made on May 1.
 
30-WIN SEASONS: Tech heads into the weekend with a 37-7 record, securing their 12th-straight 30-win season. The Lady Owls have recorded 22 seasons with at least 30 wins, recorded 11 seasons with at least 40 wins, while logging 50-or-more wins each of the last two years (recording a school record 54 wins in 2023).
 
HOME SWEET HOME: The Lady Owls head into the weekend with a 17-0 home record and an 18-game home win streak, riding a string of 15th-straight Cascade Conference home series wins. Since the all-turf facility opened, Tech has a stellar 98-13 record on their own diamond – including victories in 75 of the last 79 home games.
 
BIG SWEEP IN BIG SKY COUNTRY: For just the second time ever, OIT completed a 4-game sweep at Carroll – getting a big series at the plate and in the circle. The Owls combined for 44 hits in the series, including 10 doubles, two triples and three home runs, while pitchers combined to allow three total earned runs, limiting the Fighting Saints to 17 hits and striking out 28 batters. Tech was the first team to sweep Carroll on their home diamond.
 
KLUM EARNS WEEKLY AWARD: A big key to the Owls success was the play of Lexi Klum, as the senior was named Cascade Conference Player of the Week. The centerfielder rebounded from a 3-for-23 slump by going 9-for-14 in Montana – ripping three doubles, her eighth home run of the season and driving in seven. Klum has set a new season-high with eight home runs and has tied her career-high with 44 RBI.
 
RBI MACHINE: Puakea Milbourne continued a monster sophomore season, going 5-for-11 with two home runs and eight RBI at Carroll – including her second five-RBI game of the year in Game 1. Milbourne enters the weekend with 11 home runs (No. 2 in the CCC) – the 16th player to record 11-or-more home runs in a season, while her 57 RBI leads the CCC and is the ninth Lady Owl to log 57-or-more RBI in a year.
 
COOK HAS HIT STREAK SNAPPED: Sophomore Nita Cook had a career-best 22-game hit streak snapped in Game 2 of the Carroll series – the second-longest hit streak in OIT history (40-games by Ali Graham in 2018). The second baseman started a new streak with hits in both ends of Saturday's doubleheader and heads into the C of I series hitting .411 – ranking second in the CCC in runs (51) and hits (62).
 
SEAVERT HAS BIG TRIP: Catcher Jayce Seavert added a big boost in the middle of the Lady Owls order in Montana, combining to go 8-for-14 in the series at Carroll. The junior had three doubles (including a pair in Game 4) with four RBI, improving her season batting average to .375.

MICK CLOSING IN ON RECORDS: Kaila Mick is on the verge of a pair of Cascade Conference all-time records following a 5-for-14 series at Carroll, scoring seven runs and driving in four. The fifth-year player tied the OIT school record with her ninth triple of the year and leads the CCC with a .490 batting average, 72 hits, 16 doubles and 52 runs scored. Mick moved within 10 hits of Kelsey Randall's CCC hits record (336) and three runs scored of Haley Loffer's CCC runs scored mark (251).
 
STAUB BLANKS CARROLL: Senior Mckenzie Staub continued her dominance at Centennial Park, tossing consecutive shutouts in the series at Carroll. The right-hander, who tossed a perfect game in Helena in 2022, tossed a 4-hitter in a Friday win and followed with a 3-hitter on Saturday, improving her season record to 15-3.
 
SCHMIDT RUNS WIN STREAK TO 16: Kacie Schmidt picked up a pair of complete game victories in Helena, striking out a combined 19 batters. The junior pushed her league-leading win total to 19 and lowered her ERA to 1.35 with dominant performances – running a personal win streak to 16 games.
 
THANK YOU SENIORS: Saturday marks the final home regular-season game for the three senior student-athletes on the 2024 Lady Owls squad. Mckenzie Staub, Lexi Klum and Kaila Mick will be honored in a special ceremony between Games 3 and 4 of the series.
 
AROUND THE CONFERENCE: Along with the top-four teams squaring off this weekend (Eastern Oregon at Southern Oregon and College of Idaho at OIT), the remaining six teams close out the regular seasons, as Carroll plays Montana rival Providence in Great Falls, UBC travels to Corban and Warner Pacific heads to Bushnell.
 
RECORD BOOK: Eight players currently sit inside the OIT career Top-25 record book (career records do not include the 2020 COVID shortened season), led by Kaila Mick, who ranks among the Top-25 in 14 categories – holding the school record for games played (229), games started (229), at bats (762), runs scored (240) and triples (22), ranking No. 2 in stolen bases (74), doubles (62), walks (86), and hits (309), No. 4 in hit-by-pitches (33) and RBI (185), No. 7 in sacrifice flies (9), No. 19 in home runs (18) and No. 24 in sacrifice hits (10). Jayce Seavert holds the hit-by-pitch record (57), is No. 2 in sacrifice flies (12), No. 12 in RBI (132) and sacrifice hits (13), No. 14 in doubles (41), No. 21 in walks (47), No. 22 in runs scored (116), No. 23 in triples (5) and in home runs (16), ranking just outside the Top-25 in hits (163); Lexi Klum is No. 3 in triples (12), No. 10 in sacrifice hits (14), No. 16 in RBI (120), No. 18 in stolen bases (26), No. 23 in runs scored (112) and home runs (16), is No. 24 in doubles (32) and ranks just outside the Top-25 in hits (163); Zoe Allen is No. 5 in stolen bases (48), No. 7 in sacrifice hits (15), No. 16 in walks (52), No. 17 in runs scored (127), ranking just outside the Top-25 in hits (159); with Nita Cook No. 11 in stolen bases (35) and No. 12 in both sacrifice hits (13) and triples (7). In the circle, Mckenzie Staub is No. 3 in games started (95) and strikeouts (418), No. 4 in wins (76), innings pitched (537.1) and appearances (116), No. 6 in shutouts (13) and No. 8 in saves (3) and complete games (40); Kacie Schmidt is No. 3 in shutouts (16), No. 6 in saves (4) and strikeouts (369), No. 7 in wins (50) and appearances (94), No. 8 in games started (58) and No. 9 in complete games (36) and innings pitched (389.1); with Alli Parker No. 8 in saves (3).
 
LOOKING AHEAD: The Lady Owls will compete next Friday-Sunday at the Cascade Conference Championships, presented by U.S. Bank, with the host site determined following this weekend's games.