COMING UP: Season Complete
 
WORLD SERIES RECAP: Making their fifth-straight appearance at the NAIA Softball World Series, the Lady Owls brought home their fifth all-time trophy from the event, placing fourth overall. OIT opened the tournament with a 2-1 victory over Cumberlands, as RBI singles from Nita Cook and Puakea Milbourne in the third inning provided the offense and Kacie Schmidt struck out five to earn the victory. Tech would meet eventual national champion, Our Lady of the Lake, in the quarterfinals, with NAIA Pitcher of the Year, Cassie Valdez striking out 10 and the Saints capitalizing on two errors to score three unearned runs in a 3-0 Tech loss. OIT battled thunderstorms in an epic 4-2 win over Cumberlands (see below), with Lexi Klum going 3-for-3, but bowed out of the tournament, as Jessup erased a 2-0 deficit, topping Tech, 4-3, to reach the semifinals – despite 2-hit games from Cook and Marla Goodspeed.
 
LONGEST GAME?: Taking nearly 23 hours to complete, the Owls earned a 4-2 victory over Cumberlands in their first elimination game in Georgia – one of the longest games in program history. Following a 45-minute delay at the outset due to lightning, the two teams played two innings before lightning halted play for nearly four hours. Once the teams returned to the diamond, only five outs were recorded before another storm moved into the area, stopping play for the night. The following morning, the teams closed out the game – playing the final four innings.
 
MICK CAPS HISTORIC RUN WITH LADY OWLS: An amazing 5-year run at shortstop came to a close in the Chattahoochee River Valley, as Kaila Mick saw her illustrious career with the Lady Owls ended on the red Georgia clay. Mick, who started 267 consecutive games in an OIT uniform, became the Owls eight consensus first-team All-American after hitting .355 with five homers and 62 RBI, setting single-season records with 25 doubles and 11 triples – finishing the year with 10 games with 3-or-more hits. The Cascade Conference Player of the Year set new league records with 264 runs scored and 346 hits, while setting NAIA all-time records for games played and for at bats (872). Following the year, Mick became the third OIT athlete to be honored as Academic All-American of the Year – joining Hall of Fame softball player Meagan Webber (2002) and track athlete Danielle De Castro (2020) in the special group.
 
COOK EARNS ALL-AMERICA HONORS: Following a breakout 2024 season, second baseman Nita Cook was honored on two All-America teams, earning NFCA first-team All-America honors, while named a third-team selection by the NAIA coaches. The sophomore moved into the leadoff spot early in the season and ran with it – hitting .375 with six home runs, 13 doubles, seven triples and 33 RBI, while swiping 21 bags without being caught. Cook was also stellar with the leather, recording just two errors in 231 defensive chances.
 
SCHMIDT REPEATS AS ALL-AMERICAN: Junior Kacie Schmidt closed out a tremendous season with a pair of victories over No. 4-ranked Cumberlands at the World Series, earning All-Tournament team honors. The right-hander finished 27-9 with a 1.69 ERA on the year, striking out 195 batters – as Schmidt was selected a second-team All-American by the NAIA coaches – her second-straight All-America honor. She joins former teammate, Sarah Abramson, as the only hurlers in program history with multiple 25-or-more win seasons.
 
MILBOURNE NAMED TO ALL-TOURNEY TEAM: The Owls had a second player named to the World Series All-Tournament team, as Puakea Milbourne was honored by the NAIA. The sophomore reached base in her first six at bats in Georgia, finishing 6-for-12 at the plate. For the year, Milbourne was key in the middle of the order, hitting .370 with 13 homers and 67 RBI – becoming the fourth player with 67-or-more RBI in a season and the 11th player to hit 13-or-more home runs.
 
LOOKING BACK AT 2024: Another season, another year with 48-or-more wins for the Lady Owls – as OIT finished 2024 with a 49-12 record, their fourth-straight year with at least 48 wins. The club challenged themselves during non-conference play, facing stiff competition in both Arizona and California – taking on national tournament teams in Hope International and Jessup, along with quality victories over both OUAZ and Arizona Christian. The Owls dropped their first two Cascade Conference games, before rallying in the seventh in the series finale at Eastern Oregon, with a Kaila Mick solo homer and a Puakea Milbourne 2-run blast delivered a 3-1 win. The victory started a monster run by Tech – beginning with an 18-game win streak, stretching out to 33 wins in 34 games – including series sweeps against Southern Oregon and College of Idaho. After placing third in a frigid CCC Tournament, the Owls hosted the NAIA Opening Round for a third-straight year – battling through the elimination bracket with three victories – including a sweep of Vanguard in the championship series – to punch their ticket to the NAIA Softball World Series.
 
RECORDS SET: During the 2024 season, the Lady Owls tied a school record by getting hit by a pitch six times in a win over Bushnell, while three single-season records were set – as Kaila Mick broke records for doubles (25) and triples (11), while Alli Parker tying the mark for saves (5). Jayce Seavert tied the career record for sacrifice flies (14), with Mick setting new marks in eight categories – games played, games started, at bats, runs scored, hits, doubles, triples and total bases.
 
STREAKS: Tech will take three streaks into the 2025 season – all showcasing the continued dominance of the program. The Lady Owls are poised to defend three consecutive Cascade Conference regular-season titles – winning crowns in 2021, 2022, 2023. The team puts a string of 5-straight NAIA Softball World Series appearances on the line – the only team in the NAIA to make 5-straight trips since the format changed in 2013. In addition, OIT will put a string of 10-straight NAIA Tournament appearances on the line – dating back to 2014.
 
HOME FIELD DOMINANCE: The Lady Owls finished 2024 with a 27-3 home record and will begin 2025 with a string of 16-straight Cascade Conference home series wins. Since the all-turf facility opened, Tech has a stellar 108-16 record on their own diamond – including victories in 85 of the last 91 home games (posting a 55-5 record at home over the last two years).
 
ACADEMIC AWARDS: Ten players were honored in 2024 as both members of the Cascade Conference All-Academic Team and NAIA Scholar-Athletes – Zoe Allen, Marla Goodspeed, Addison Kachnik, Lexi Klum, Kaila Mick, Malia Mick, Carli Moore, Kacie Schmidt, Jayce Seavert and Olivia Sprague. Kaila Mick, Klum and Schmidt were honored as NAIA Academic All-District 4 selections by the College Sports Communicators, with Mick and Klum selected as a first-team Academic All-Americans (with Mick earning NAIA Softball Academic All-American of the Year honors).
 
THANK YOU SENIORS: Four World Series appearances in four seasons and two national runner-up finishes showcased the talents of the Lady Owls senior class – as Lexi Klum and Mckenzie Staub joined Kaila Mick in playing their last games in an OIT uniform. Klum had a career senior season, earning All-CCC honors after hitting .360 with nine homers and 56 RBI – all personal best marks. Staub capped her career going 19-3 in the circle with a 2.61 ERA – finishing her career with 80 wins and becoming the first player in program history to win 18-or-more games in 4-straight seasons. During the last four years, the senior class posted a 201-45 record on the diamond.
 
LOOKING AHEAD: Despite losing three key seniors, the Lady Owls return a veteran laden team in 2025. First baseman Puakea Milbourne, second baseman Nita Cook and third baseman Addison Kachnik (.309 2 HR 23 RBI) have started every game the past two seasons, with catcher Jayce Seavert (.353 1 HR 36 RBI) a 2-time All-CCC pick and CCC gold glove selection. Outfielders Zoe Allen (.376 0 HR 22 RBI) and Malia Mick (.322 0 HR 16 RBI) both had outstanding 2024 seasons, while Tech returns four arms in the circle – ace Kacie Schmidt, along with Alli Parker (2-0 2.04 ERA, 5 saves), Carli Moore (0-0 0.64 ERA) and Jenna Gorden (1-0 3.32 ERA). Key role players Marla Goodspeed and Olivia Sprague will be joined by a deep recruiting class that looks to keep Tech atop the conference standings in 2025.