Owls, Raiders Win NAIA Openers
OIT and SOU each opened NAIA Softball Championship Opening Round play with home-field wins Monday, moving both top-seeded programs into Tuesday semifinal matchups.
KLAMATH FALLS / ASHLAND - Two Southern Oregon softball programs opened NAIA national tournament play with wins Monday, as Oregon Tech and Southern Oregon University each protected home field in their respective NAIA Softball Championship Opening Round brackets.
Oregon Tech shut out Dickinson State in Klamath Falls behind a dominant pitching performance from Kristine Schmidt, while Southern Oregon defeated Dordt in Ashland behind another strong postseason outing from Ayla Davies. Both teams now advance to Tuesday semifinal games with spots in their bracket championship rounds on the line.
Oregon Tech Blanks Dickinson State in Klamath Falls Bracket
In Klamath Falls, Oregon Tech opened the NAIA Softball National Championship Opening Round with a 4-0 win over Dickinson State at Stilwell Stadium.
Schmidt, making her NAIA National Tournament debut, threw a two-hit shutout for the Lady Owls. The Cascade Conference Newcomer of the Year worked out of early trouble in the first inning after Dickinson State put runners on second and third, forcing a groundout to end the threat. From there, Schmidt allowed only three more base runners the rest of the game.
Oregon Tech took the lead in the second inning when Sawyer Stenson hit a solo home run to straightaway center field. The Owls added two more runs in the third after hits from Nita Cook, Malia Mick and Addison Kachnik, with Kachnik driving in Cook on a bloop single to right field. Puakea Milbourne followed with an RBI single to extend the lead to 3-0.
Tech added its final run in the sixth inning after Brooklyn Loose and Leah Huffman opened the frame with singles. Hayden Rockwell moved the runners with a sacrifice bunt, and Maggie Pizano brought Loose home on a pinch-hit sacrifice fly.
Schmidt earned her 19th win of the season, finishing with two walks and four strikeouts. Mick and Huffman each recorded two hits for Oregon Tech, which improved to 42-8.
The Lady Owls advanced to Tuesday’s semifinal against second-seeded Our Lady of the Lake at 1:30 p.m. Our Lady of the Lake defeated St. Thomas 13-7 earlier Monday. Dickinson State, which beat Arizona Christian 8-4 in the tournament opener before falling to Oregon Tech, moves into an elimination game.
Tuesday’s Klamath Falls Bracket schedule includes St. Thomas against Arizona Christian at 11 a.m. in a loser-out game, Oregon Tech against Our Lady of the Lake at 1:30 p.m., and Dickinson State against the winner of the first game at 4 p.m. in another elimination matchup.
Al Case, Ashland Daily Photo. Provided by SOU Sports Inforation
Southern Oregon Downs Dordt in Ashland Bracket
In Ashland, Southern Oregon opened its NAIA Championship Opening Round with a 3-1 win over Dordt at Laurel Park, moving the Raiders two wins away from another NAIA World Series appearance.
Davies earned her 24th win of the season with a complete-game performance. The sophomore right-hander allowed four hits, struck out six, and gave up Dordt’s only run early in the first inning after Chloe Kreuz opened the game with a triple and scored on a passed ball.
Southern Oregon answered in the third inning. Vanessa Lang, Brooke Nordahl and Ari Williams delivered three consecutive singles, with Williams driving in the tying run. Two batters later, Avery Coffin hit a two-out, two-run double to right field, giving the Raiders a 3-1 lead they would not give back.
Dordt threatened in the seventh inning, putting the potential tying runs on base with two outs and Kreuz at the plate. Davies got Kreuz to pop up into shallow left-center field. Nordahl tracked the ball from shortstop, and after it came out of her glove, Williams backed up the play and caught it before it hit the ground to seal the win.
The Raiders have now won 13 straight games and have continued to lean on clean defense and strong pitching. Going back to the Cascade Conference Tournament, SOU has played four consecutive games without an error and has allowed more than two runs only once in its last 11 games.
Lang went 2-for-3 with a run scored, while Kalea Thomas added two singles for her fifth straight multi-hit game.
Southern Oregon will face No. 2 seed Texas A&M-Texarkana at 1:30 p.m. Tuesday. Texas A&M-Texarkana defeated Saint Francis 5-4 in its opener. The winner will advance to Wednesday’s final round, while the loser will need to work through the elimination side of the bracket.
Tuesday’s Ashland Bracket schedule includes Ottawa against Saint Francis at 11 a.m. in an elimination game, Texas A&M-Texarkana at Southern Oregon at 1:30 p.m., and Dordt against the Ottawa-Saint Francis winner at 4 p.m. in another loser-out matchup.
Both Southern Oregon Teams Move Into Tuesday Semifinals
With Monday’s wins, both Oregon Tech and Southern Oregon remain in the winner’s side of their home brackets and will play Tuesday afternoon for a direct path into their respective championship rounds.
Oregon Tech will host Our Lady of the Lake in Klamath Falls, while Southern Oregon will host Texas A&M-Texarkana in Ashland. Both games are scheduled for 1:30 p.m.
The NAIA Opening Round continues through the week, with bracket winners advancing to the NAIA Softball World Series.
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