COMING UP: at Pacific (DH), Tuesday, 12 p.m.; at No. 1 Southern Oregon (DH), Wednesday, 2 p.m.; at Corban (DH), Friday, 2 p.m.; at Corban (DH), Saturday, 11 a.m.

COMPLETE WEEKLY MEDIA NOTEBOOK
 
GAME DAY INFORMATION: Tuesday's doubleheader at Pacific will have Live Video through the Northwest Conference Network, with Live Stats through Stat Broadcast. Both the Southern and Corban games will have Live Stats through OIT's SIDEARM Stats Portal, with the SOU games streamed through SIDEARM and Corban games through HUDL-TV.
 
OPPONENT INFORMATION – PACIFIC: The 10-game week starts Tuesday at Pacific, as Tech and the Division III Boxers (3-7) make up a doubleheader rained out on February 15. Pacific has struggled offensively, averaging three runs per game (a .234 team batting average), with the defense committing 27 errors in 10 games. Designated player Addie MacPherson (.381 2 HR 7 RBI), third baseman Chloe Knepp (.333 2 HR 6 RBI) and first baseman Carli Zanassi (.308 0 HR 1 RBI) lead the Boxers offense, with pitchers Kiara Baba (2-2 4.55 ERA) and Peyton Davis (0-1 5.25 ERA) the top arms. Tech has won the past six meetings and leads the all-time series, 14-7-1.
 
AGAINST THE DIVISION III: Tuesday's game at Pacific is the Owls first against a Division III opponent, with the Owls 55-32-1 all-time against the NCAA's non-scholarship teams. Both Pacific and Lewis & Clark are a part of the Northwest Conference – with OIT 52-28-1 against the eight softball playing NWC schools (George Fox, Lewis & Clark, Linfield, Pacific, Pacific Lutheran, Puget Sound, Whitworth, Willamette).
 
OPPONENT INFORMATION – SOUTHERN OREGON: Wednesday, the eyes of NAIA softball will be on University Field in Ashland, as top-ranked Southern Oregon hosts No. 2-ranked OIT. The Raiders (25-1, 9-0 CCC) are off to their best start in program history and take a 14-game win streak into the twinbill – with 11 of their 25 victories by the 8-run rule. SOU is among the NAIA leaders in batting average (.374) and stolen bases (80) – with their outfield of Kailer Fulton (.506 0 HR 12 RBI, 17 SB), Sarah Kerling (.479 0 HR 17 RBI, 12 SB) and Ari Williams (.382 2 HR 27 RBI), along with catcher Piper Love (.328 1 HR 23 RBI) headlining the potent attack. Freshman Ayla Davies (14-1 0.72 ERA, 111 K) has been dominant, leading the league in wins and strikeouts. The teams have met 146 times, with both teams posting 73 all-time wins.
 
VS. NO. 1: The two Wednesday games vs. Southern are the 22nd and 23rd all-time games against a No. 1-ranked team, as the Owls are 6-15 all-time against a top-ranked foe (1-4 vs. Simon Fraser in 2000; 0-2 vs. Simon Fraser in 2003; 2-1 vs. Cal Baptist in 2011; 1-2 vs. Georgia Gwinnett in 2019; 2-5 vs. Southern Oregon in 2021; 0-1 vs. Our Lady of the Lake in 2024). OIT has never played in a No. 1 vs. No. 2 game (though the OIT-SOU match-ups at the 2021 World Series were No. 1 seed vs. No. 2 seed), but as the No. 1-ranked team in 2023, faced No. 3 ranked Cumberlands at the 2023 NAIA World Series.
 
OPPONENT INFORMATION – CORBAN: The week ends in the Valley at Corban, as the Warriors (1-24, 1-11) have struggled this season – hitting .166 as a team and averaging just two runs per game – with their pitchers walking more batters (113) than their team has hits (88). First baseman Peyton Foreman (.273 2 HR 13 RBI) has provided the offensive firepower for Corban, along with designated player Miranda Scovil (.313 0 HR 1 RBI) and Reagan Rasmussen (.205 0 HR 3 RBI), while a pitching staff that has a 9.49 team ERA is paced by Kate Banks (1-5 7.08 ERA) and Vanessa Quinones (0-5 9.46 ERA). OIT has won the past 12 meetings, the last seven wins by 7-or-more runs, and holds a 67-32 all-time series lead.
 
LADY OWLS CLIMB TO NO. 2: A 17-3 start to the season, including wins against four Top-25 teams, helped the Lady Owls remain at No. 2 in the second NAIA Top-25 poll of the regular-season. Rival Southern Oregon holds the No. 1 spot, with Science & Arts, Cumberlands and Oklahoma City rounding out the Top-5. Two other CCC teams – No. 13 Eastern Oregon and No. 20 College of Idaho are in the Top-25,  
 
AGAINST THE TOP-25: Tech will play 18 games during the regular-season opponents in the poll, opening the year with a 5-3 record against ranked foes – including a 4-0 win over No. 3 ranked USAO on Feb. 22. It was the highest ranked opponent the Lady Owls have toppled since defeating No. 1 ranked Southern Oregon on two occasions during the 2021 season.
 
STREAKING: A 4-game sweep of Bushnell extended the Lady Owls win streak to nine games heading into a string of 10-straight road games over the next 10 days. OIT is looking to record a double-digit win streak for the seventh-straight year – posting a 19-game win streak last year, a 25-game win streak in 2023 and a 20-game win streak in both 2021 and 2022.
 
PITCHING AND DEFENSE: Tech stymied the Bushnell batters throughout the weekend series – holding the Beacons to five total runs in the four games, allowing just 14 total hits. Carli Moore earned the win in Game 2, taking a shutout into the seventh inning and recording eight strikeouts, with Alli Parker improving to 5-0 on the year with five innings of 4-hit ball in Game 4. The Owls continued to play near-perfect defense, recording just one error in 117 defensive chances – with the club committing just two errors total in their last nine games. OIT heads into the week leading the NAIA with a .981 fielding percentage.
 
SCHMIDT NAMED PITCHER OF THE WEEK: For the second time this season, senior Kacie Schmidt has earned Cascade Conference Pitcher of the Week honors after dominating Bushnell in the weekend series. The right-hander pitched 14.2 innings over three appearances, holding the visitors to one run on four hits. Schmidt tossed a 2-hitter in Game 1 of the series, striking out 11 – her 13th game with 10-or-more strikeouts – while getting the final two outs to preserve a 6-2 win in Game 2. Schmidt closed her weekend with a 2-hit shutout in Game 3, the 21st shutout by the All-American, while surpassing the 500-strikeout mark for her career.
 
TOP OF THE ORDER: The key to the Lady Owls success vs. Bushnell was the play of Nita Cook and Gina Allen, the top two batters in the OIT lineup. Cook was a thorn in the Beacons' side, going 6-for-15 with five stolen bases and seven runs scored, while All had three doubles, a triple and five RBI, finishing the weekend 7-for-14 at the plate. Both players head into the week riding a 10-game hitting streak.
 
SUCCESS AT HOME: Stilwell Stadium has been a house of horrors for opponents, since the top venue in the Cascade Conference was opened in 2019. The Lady Owls are a combined 114-18 all-time on the artificial turf field, including wins in 94 of their last 104 home games.
 
AROUND THE CONFERENCE: Four of the five series last week ended in sweeps – as SOU, OIT, EOU and Carroll rolled to wins, while C of I took 3-of-4 from UBC. This week, Carroll is at UBC, SOU is at Bushnell, EOU heads to Providence, C of I is at Warner Pacific, with OIT traveling to Corban.
 
LEAGUE LEADERS: Batting Average – Kailer Fulton (SOU) .506, Sarah Kerling (SOU) .479, Faith Moultrie (SOU) .471, Gina Allen (OIT) .441; Home Runs – Violet Richardson (BU) 5, Kili Makanani (WP) 5, Madison Olson (EOU) 4; RBI – Ari Williams (SOU) 27, Emily Barry (EOU) 23, Piper Love (SOU) 23; Stolen Bases – Noe Barawis (WP) 28, Nita Cook (OIT) 17, Kailer Fulton (SOU) 17; Pitching Wins – Ayla Davies (SOU) 15, Kacie Schmidt (OIT) 8, Abbey Brooks (CI) 8; Pitching Strikeouts – Ayla Davies (SOU) 117, Kacie Schmidt (OIT) 80, Carleen Murray (UBC) 74.
 
RECORD BOOK: Seven Lady Owls rank among the Top-25 in the OIT career record book. Jayce Seavert holds the all-time record for hit-by-pitches (60) and sacrifice flies (15), ranking No. 3 in defensive chances (1,086), No. 4 in games started (219), No. 5 in defensive put outs (904) and games played (221), No. 8 in doubles (48), No. 9 in RBI (155), No. 11 in sacrifice hits (15), No. 13 in triples (7), No. 14 in at bats (608), No. 17 in walks (50), No. 18 in hits (196) and runs scored (127),  No. 21 in home runs (17), ranking No. 25 in stolen bases (20); Zoe Allen is No. 5 in stolen bases (51), No. 7 in sacrifice hits (19), No. 10 in walks (61), No. 13 in runs scored (141) and No. 25 in hits (177); Nita Cook is in No. 3 in stolen bases (56), No. 8 in sacrifice hits (18), No. 10 in defensive assists (270), No. 11 in triples (8), No. 17 in hit-by-pitches (11), No. 23 in runs scored (119), ranking just outside the Top-25 in hits (144); Puakea Milbourne is No. 4 in defensive put outs (914), No. 5 in defensive chances (952), No. 10 in hit-by-pitches (15), No. 14 in sacrifice hits (14), No. 17 in RBI (118) and No. 21 in home runs (17); with Addison Kachnik No. 18 in defensive assists (204). In the circle, Kacie Schmidt ranks No. 3 in shutouts (21), saves (5) and strikeouts (503), No. 5 in wins (66), pitching starts (81) and appearances (121), No. 6 in complete games (48), ranking No. 7 in innings pitched (522.2); while Alli Parker is No. 3 all-time in saves (5).
 
NEXT WEEK: OIT travels next Wednesday to Ashland to close out their 4-game series with Southern Oregon, before returning home Friday and Saturday (April 4-5) to host British Columbia.