COMING UP: at No. 1 Southern Oregon (DH), Wednesday, 2 p.m.; vs. British Columbia (DH), Friday, 2 p.m.; vs. British Columbia (DH), Saturday, 11 a.m.

COMPLETE WEEKLY MEDIA NOTEBOOK
 
GAME DAY INFORMATION: Both the Southern and UBC games will have Live Stats through OIT's SIDEARM Stats Portal, with the SOU games streamed (pay-per-view) through SIDEARM and the UBC games streamed for free via the Owls Sports Network.
 
OPPONENT INFORMATION – SOUTHERN OREGON: For the second-straight Wednesday, the top-two softball teams in the NAIA will meet in Ashland, as Tech meets No. 1-ranked Southern Oregon – a week after the Raiders (30-2, 13-1 CCC) earned a 2-1 win in Game 1, before the Owls ended Southern's 15-game win streak with a 7-2 victory. SOU rebounded by outscoring Bushnell, 24-3, in their 4-game weekend sweep and bring the top offense (.359 team batting average, 6.8 runs/game) into the twinbill, along with a lineup that has stolen 91 bases. Slap-hitters Kailer Fulton (.459 0 HR 13 RBI, 22 SB), Sarah Kerling (.456 0 HR 21 RBI, 12 SB) and Faith Moultrie (.420 0 HR 17 RBI, 15 SB) anchor the offense, with Ari Williams (.369 2 HR 29 RBI) leading the league in RBI. Freshman Ayla Davies (18-1 0.65 ERA, 144 K) leads the NAIA in wins and ranks No. 3 in strikeouts – earning the complete game win in last week's opener. The two teams have met 148 times, with both teams winning 74 games.
 
VS. NO. 1: The two Wednesday games vs. Southern are the 24th and 25th all-time games the Lady Owls have played against a No. 1-ranked team, as Tech is 7-16 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, 1-1 vs. SOU in 2025). OIT had never played in a No. 1 vs. No. 2 game prior to last Wednesday (though the OIT-SOU match-ups at the 2021 World Series were No. 1 seed vs. No. 2 seed).
 
OPPONENT INFORMATION – BRITISH COLUMBIA: The Lady Owls return home for a key weekend series against British Columbia, as the T-Birds (12-9, 7-6) received votes in the latest NAIA Top-25 poll after a 9-2 start to the year. UBC has played the gauntlet of the schedule – facing Eastern Oregon and College of Idaho in back-to-back weekends, while having 3-of-4 games rained out at home vs. Carroll. Pitching is the key to the T-Bird attack, as the duo of Carleen Murray (5-6 1.91 ERA, 74 K) and Shae Sever (6-3 2.78 ERA; .347 1 HR 9 RBI) are a potent 1-2 punch, with Murray striking out a league-best 25 batters in a road win at Warner Pacific. The offense averages four runs per game and has a .276 team batting average, thanks to Kaitlyn Eng (.361 0 HR 12 RBI), Keona Nordquist (.290 0 HR 7 RBI) and Kaitlyn Kim (.267 1 HR 7 RBI). OIT won 4-of-5 meetings between the teams last season and holds a 36-4 all-time series lead, including a 11-0 record in the Basin.
 
LADY OWLS RANKED NO. 2: A 24-4 start to the season, including wins against five 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 6-4 record against ranked foes – including wins over the No. 1 and No. 3 ranked teams in the NAIA.
 
STREAKING: Tech saw their season-high win streak snapped at 11 games at Southern Oregon, but ran a string of seasons with a double-digit win streak to 7-in-a-row. Last year, the Owls posted a 19-game win streak, a 25-game win streak in 2023 and a 20-game win streak in both 2021 and 2022.
 
OFFENSE HAS A BIG WEEK: Playing four doubleheaders over a six-day span, the Lady Owls found their rhythm offensively, averaging seven runs per game over the eight contests. Tech scored a season-high 17 runs in Game 2 of their series at Corban, tying a season-high with 15 hits in Game 2 at Southern – the most hits surrendered by the Raiders since 2019. OIT was 14-for-14 in stolen base chances for the week, with the team combining for 29 walks and 11 hit-by-pitches against just 15 strikeouts.

TOP DEFENSE IN THE NAIA: Tech continued to be dominant in the field, committing just two errors in 213 defensive chances – spanning the 8-game week – improving their NAIA-leading team fielding percentage to .984. The Lady Owls have committed just 13 errors through 28 games, with the team posting a sizeable lead in the NAIA fielding percentage rankings on No. 2 Evangel (.978).
 
MILBOURNE NAMED PLAYER OF THE WEEK: The Owls attack was led throughout the week by Puakea Milbourne, who was named Cascade Conference Player of the Week. The junior hit .444 over the course of the eight games (12-for-27), with three doubles, a homer and 10 RBI – including a 5-for-6 effort in the doubleheader at No. 1-ranked SOU (recording her first career 4-hit game in Game 2) and four RBI in Game 1 at Corban. Milbourne saw her batting average climb to .362, with her 24 RBI ranking fourth in the CCC.
 
SEAVERT HEATS UP: Catcher Jayce Seavert was key to the Owls success during the long week, going 9-for-19 with a double, homer and six RBI. The senior was 4-for-6 with four RBI in Sunday's doubleheader at Corban – becoming the 18th player in OIT history to surpass 200 hits in a career. Seavert added a sacrifice fly and was hit by three pitches – extending her own school record in both categories.
 
SENIOR STICKS: The senior tandem of Zoe Allen and Marla Goodspeed will each take a 6-game hit streak into Wednesday's match-up at SOU. Allen broke out of a hitting slump in a big way, going a combined 11-for-24 for the week, scoring 10 runs, adding six walks and three stolen bases. Goodspeed finished the week 8-for-21 with a double and four RBI, adding four walks and seven RBI.
 
SCHMIDT CONTINUES TO SHINE: No. 1-starter Kacie Schmidt continued her stellar senior season, going 3-1 with a save on the week, combining to allow just two earned runs on 13 hits in 25 innings – striking out 20 batters. Schmidt earned a key save with three strong innings in Game 2 at Southern, while earning three wins at Corban, tossing 15 shutout innings, limiting the Warriors to just four total hits.
 
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. Following the 10-game road trip that ends Wednesday, Tech will play 10 of their next 14 games in the Basin.
 
AROUND THE CONFERENCE: The three top teams swept their 4-game sets (SOU at Bushnell, OIT at Corban, EOU at Providence), while rain washed out the series between UBC and Carroll and Warner Pacific split the series with College of Idaho. This week, Bushnell and Warner Pacific head to Montana to face Providence and Carroll, Corban is at SOU, UBC is at OIT, with the big match-up featuring Eastern at C of I.
 
LEAGUE LEADERS: Batting Average – Kailer Fulton (SOU) .459, Sarah Kerling (SOU) .456, Maddy Durham (EOU) .448; Home Runs – Violet Richardson (BU) 5, Kili Makanani (WP) 5, Madison Olson (EOU) 4, Emily Barry (EOU) 4; RBI – Ari Williams (SOU) 29, Emily Barry (EOU) 27, Piper Love (SOU) 25, Puakea Milbourne (OIT) 24; Stolen Bases – Noe Barawis (WP) 35, Nita Cook (OIT) 23, Kailer Fulton (SOU) 22; Pitching Wins – Ayla Davies (SOU) 18, Kacie Schmidt (OIT) 11, Abbey Brooks (CI) 10; Pitching Strikeouts – Ayla Davies (SOU) 144, Kacie Schmidt (OIT) 100, Kennedy Venner (CAR) 74, 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 (64) and sacrifice flies (16), No. 2 in games started (226), ranking No. 3 in defensive chances (1,123) and games played (228), No. 5 in defensive put outs (938), No. 8 in doubles (49), No. 9 in RBI (161) and sacrifice hits (16), No. 13 in triples (7) and at bats (627), No. 16 in runs scored (133) and walks (53), No. 17 in hits (203),  No. 20 in home runs (18), ranking No. 25 in stolen bases (22); Zoe Allen is No. 4 in stolen bases (54), No. 7 in sacrifice hits (19) and walks (67), No. 9 in runs scored (151) and No. 20 in hits (188); Nita Cook is in No. 3 in stolen bases (62), No. 7 in sacrifice hits (19) and defensive assists (288), No. 11 in triples (8), No. 15 in hit-by-pitches (12), No. 19 in runs scored (125), ranking just outside the Top-25 in hits (152); Puakea Milbourne is No. 3 in defensive put outs (966), No. 5 in defensive chances (1,004), No. 10 in hit-by-pitches (15), No. 12 in sacrifice hits (15), No. 15 in RBI (118), No. 20 in home runs (18) and just outside the Top-25 in runs scored (102), hits (164), doubles (26) and stolen bases (20); with Addison Kachnik No. 15 in defensive assists (215). In the circle, Kacie Schmidt ranks No. 2 in saves (6) and pitching appearances (127), No. 3 in shutouts (22), and strikeouts (523), No. 4 in pitching starts (84), No. 5 in wins (69) and innings pitched (547.2), ranking No. 6 in complete games (50); while Alli Parker is No. 4 all-time in saves (5) and just outside the Top-25 in wins (9), strikeouts (59) and pitching appearances (25); with Carli Moore just outside the Top-25 in pitching appearances (30) and strikeouts (55).
 
NEXT WEEK: The Lady Owls welcome Simpson for a midweek doubleheader (April 8), before traveling to Portland for a 4-game series at Warner Pacific.