(admin) Published
Saturday, May 06, 2023 – 02:30 PM
KLAMATH FALLS, Ore. – For the third time this season, Kacie Schmidt matched up against Eastern Oregon ace Kaylie Hoskins – and for the third time this season, the Oregon Tech right-hander got the best of the Mountaineers ace, as the Lady Owls opened up Cascade Conference Tournament play with a 5-1 victory at Stilwell Stadium.
The CCC Pitcher of the Year took a shutout into the seventh, earning her league-leading 24th win – as the Lady Owls (44-6) improved to 22-0 at home on the year.
OIT will meet No. 6-ranked College of Idaho in the tournament semifinals tomorrow afternoon at 2 p.m. – with a spot in the title game on the line. The game will be carried live locally on 1150 KAGO-AM.
Schmidt worked out of trouble throughout the afternoon – as the No. 24-ranked Mountaineers (32-18) stranded 12 runners on the day – including eight in scoring position. A first inning double from Gates Leatherwood put runners at second and third with two outs, but the right-hander coaxed a fly ball from Hannah Tyree to get out of the jam.
Two innings later, Maddy Stateler led off with a double and Leatherwood walked to put runners on the corners – but Schmidt got a strikeout and ground out to end the threat.
Hoskins, the CCC Newcomer of the Year, took a 1-hit shutout into the sixth – but the Owls used small-ball to take control of the game. Addison Kachnik led off with a check-swing single and pinch runner Maddie DeVerna moved to second on a wild pitch. Following a bloop single from Nita Cook, Zoe Allen hit a grounder to third, with Leatherwood throw to first pulling Haley Ebner off the bag – with DeVerna scoring on the play to give Tech a 1-0 lead.
Kaila Mick followed with a grounder to second, with Cook eluding a throw home to score to make it 2-0 and Maggie Buckholz added a sacrifice fly to extend the lead. A Jayce Seavert RBI double and a Lexi Klum run-scoring single chased Hoskins and capped the 5-run outburst.
Schmidt worked around eight hits and an unearned run, striking out six – with five different Lady Owls recording hits.
Hoskins fanned six in five-plus innings, with Leatherwood going 3-for-3, including a seventh inning RBI single, in the loss for EOU.
TOURNAMENT RECAP:
GAME 1 – Eastern Oregon 1, British Columbia 0: Tyree’s fourth inning RBI double was the lone run of the game, as Hoskins struck out 10 in a 2-hit shutout as Eastern topped the Thunderbirds.
GAME 2 – College of Idaho 4, Carroll 0: Hannah McNerney tossed a 4-hit shutout and Tanner Higgins drove in three of the four Coyote runs, as C of I blanked the Fighting Saints.
GAME 3 – Oregon Tech 5, Eastern Oregon 1 (see above)
GAME 4 – College of Idaho 9, Southern Oregon 1: In a battle of Top-10 teams, the Madelyn Powell hit two of the Yotes four home runs as C of I earned the six-inning, run-rule victory.
DAY 2 SCHEDULE: Game 5 – Eastern Oregon vs. Carroll, 9 a.m. (loser out); Game 6 – Southern Oregon vs. UBC, 11:30 a.m.; Game 7 – OIT vs. C of I, 2 p.m.; Game 8 – Winner 5 vs. Winner 6, 4:30 p.m.
Eastern Oregon University
Oregon Institute of Technology
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Cascade Collegiate Conference
Game Results
