KLAMATH FALLS, Ore. – Oregon Tech completed a statement series against at Top-5 opponent, as the No. 1-ranked Lady Owls completed a 4-game sweep of longtime rival Southern Oregon, winning 7-2 and 4-1 at Stilwell Stadium.
OIT (38-4, 19-2 CCC) ran their win streak to 11 in a row with a dominant doubleheader against the fifth-ranked Raiders – using the longball in the opener, with speed and pitching keying the Game 2 win.
The Lady Owls chased NAIA Pitcher of the Year, Ayla Davies, in the second inning of Game 1 – jumping out to a 7-0 lead just five outs into the contest.
Malia Mick doubled in the first and scored on a
Puakea Milbourne single and following a walk to
Gina Allen,
Sawyer Stenson launched a 3-run homer to left.
An inning later,
Addison Kachnik provided the muscle, blasting a 3-run moonshot over the wall in center.
Kristine Schmidt went five-plus innings, striking out seven – but was lifted after back-to-back RBI doubles in the sixth by Carlee Strand and Lexi Ramirez. Enter
Alli Parker, who retired the final five outs in order to close out the win.
In the nightcap, Tech manufactured a run in the third – as
Nita Cook legged out an infield single, stole second, moved to third on a wild pitch and following a walk to Mick, scored on a double steal.
SOU (29-13, 10-8) got even in the fourth, loading the bases with one out and plating the equalizer on a Strand sacrifice fly – but
Carli Moore got a key strikeout to end the threat.
OIT regained the lead in the bottom of the inning, as
Gina Allen lined an RBI double and scored on a
Brooklyn Loose sacrifice fly. Tech added another run in the fifth on a Kachnik single, plating Cook, who led off with a double.
Moore earned the win, allowing a run on four hits in four innings, with
Jenna Gorden retiring 9-of-10 batters for her first save.
Cook was 2-for-4 with two runs scored and two stolen bases – grabbing sole possession of first place on the all-time OIT stolen base list, while becoming the third player to score 200 runs in a career. Kachnik also had two hits for the Owls.
Tech is idle this weekend before traveling to La Grande for a 4-game series at Eastern Oregon (April 24-25) – with the Owls needing one win to clinch their fifth-straight CCC regular-season title.
