KLAMATH FALLS, Ore. – Southern Oregon used a 12-hit attack, building a 5-0 fourth inning lead and staved off a late Oregon Tech rally, as the Raiders topped the Lady Owls, 5-3, in the second-round of the Cascade Conference Championships, presented by U.S. Bank, at Stilwell Stadium.
Southern (36-15) advances to tomorrow's semifinal against Eastern Oregon, while OIT will meet College of Idaho in an elimination game at 9 a.m. – needing five consecutive wins to claim their fourth-straight tournament title.
The Raiders took advantage of opportunities in the second, third and fourth innings to chase Lady Owls (41-8) starter
Kacie Schmidt. Brooke Nordahl opened the story with a long second inning home run, while an inning later, Sammie Pemberton doubled off the left field wall to Kami Klapp.
In the fourth – SOU took advantage of two OIT errors to extend the lead. With runners at second and third with one out, Kailer Fulton hit a slow roller to the left of the circle and beat Schmidt's throw to first, with the return throw home ending up near the Raider dugout, allowing two runs to score. A batter later Fulton would score on a wild throw to extend the margin to 5-0.
Katie Machado kept Tech at bay through four innings – before
Malia Mick delivered a bloop RBI single to score
Lexi Klum from second to get the hosts on the board. The Owls would make it interesting in the seventh, as a
Mckenzie Staub RBI triple and a run-scoring single by Mick cut the margin to 5-3. OIT would have the winning run at the plate, but Machado coaxed a pop-up to end he game – ending a 7-game losing streak to the Owls in the Basin.
Mick finished 3-for-3 with two RBI for Tech, as Schmidt took her first loss since February, allowing four earned runs in three-plus innings. Staub was solid in relief, working around four hits, keeping the Owls in the game.
Machado allowed three runs on seven hits in the victory, striking out three. Five players – Fulton, Pemberton, Nordahl, Jordan Henderson and Sarah Kerling – each had two hits for SOU.
OIT will meet College of Idaho tomorrow at 9 a.m. in an elimination game, with the winner meeting the British Columbia-Carroll winner at 4:30 p.m. for an opportunity to play on championship Sunday.
SOU will meet Eastern Oregon at 2 p.m. in the semifinals, with a spot in the title game on the line.
TOURNAMENT RECAP
GAME 1: Southern Oregon 7, British Columbia 1 – Machado and Mayze Menefee limited UBC to four hits on the day to earn an opening win. SOU had 13 hits in the victory, as Hannah Clavelle went 2-for-4 with two RBI. Caitlyn Bradley-Tse was 2-for-3 in the loss for the T-Birds.
GAME 2: Carroll 3, College of Idaho 1 – Kennedy Venner tossed a 4-hitter, as the Fighting Saints won their first-ever CCC Tournament game, stopping the No. 15-ranked Yotes. Kenna Thomas provided the offense with a second inning 2-run single. Lolo Walker hit her league-leading 17th home run for the Coyotes lone run.
GAME 4: Eastern Oregon 2, Carroll 1 – Kaylie Hoskins struck out 13 batters and Kylie Parsons worked out of a seventh inning jam, as the Mountaineers moved into the semifinals. EOU scored a pair of unearned runs in the second, but the Saints battled back, putting the tying run at second in the seventh. Parsons buckled down, getting a ground out to end the game. Carroll out-hit EOU, 5-3 in the loss.
SATURDAY SCHEDULE
GAME 5 – Oregon Tech vs. College of Idaho, 9 a.m. (loser out)
GAME 6 – Carroll vs. British Columbia, 11:30 a.m. (loser out)
GAME 7 – Southern Oregon vs. Eastern Oregon, 2 p.m.
GAME 8 – Winner 5 vs. Winner 6, 4:30 p.m. (loser out)
