LA GRANDE, Ore. – A date with (RV) Corban awaits the Eastern Oregon University softball team in the 2016 Cascade Collegiate Conference (CCC) Tournament, as the Mountaineers have nothing to lose in their first postseason appearance since 2006.
EOU, the second seed out of the CCC East Division, will square off against Corban on Friday in Ashland, Ore., at 9 a.m. The Warriors earned the third seed in the CCC West Division.
THE OPPONENT
Corban enters Friday's contest with an overall record of 34-17 and 13-7 in West Division play. The Warriors have carded four 30+ win seasons in the last five years, including two trips to the Opening Round of the NAIA National Championship (2013, 2015).
The Warriors have been led at the dish by Taylor Eilders, who leads the CCC in hits (71) and runs (50) and is first on the team in at-bats (173) and triples (2). Maddy Melton is batting .425 (34-for-80), while both Raimee Sluder and Grace Utto-Galarneau have 11 homers on the year. In the circle, Jessica Holsinger boasts a 2.25 earned run average (ERA) and directs the league in both strikeouts (125) and wins (17).
At neutral sites, Corban holds a 10-5 mark, and the Warriors are just 8-10 on the road this season. In his ninth year at the helm, head coach Nathan Ohta is the all-time winningest coach in program history with a record of 256-169 (.602).
LAST MEETING
Although EOU is just 1-3 vs. Corban this season, the Mountaineers claimed the last meeting by a 6-4 count on March 26 in La Grande. At the time, it was EOU's 18th win of the season, helping the squad match last year's overall win total.
The Mountaineers cashed six runs in the third and fourth innings to build an early lead, and sophomore pitcher Hailey Kline tossed three strikeouts in the final three frames to hold off the Warriors. A pair of seniors in infielder Haley Hess and outfielder Shelby Baertsch carried the load with three hits apiece, while junior outfielder Cheyenne Barker homered and posted three RBI in the triumph.
Since 2010, Corban holds a 23-3 record over EOU. The two teams haven't met in postseason play since 2006, when the Mountaineers claimed an 8-2 victory.
EOU'S LAST TIME OUT
EOU notched the twinbill split it was looking for with College of Idaho in the regular-season finale on April 24 in Caldwell, Idaho.
After dropping game one (8-0) in six innings, the Mountaineers responded with authority, using a three-run double by Hess and a nine-strikeout effort by Kline to seal a 6-4 victory.
With the split, EOU moved to 25-21 overall and clinched the No. 2 seed out of the East Division with a 6-6 record.
WAITING IN THE WINGS
Should EOU advance over Corban, the Mountaineers will play at 2 p.m. on Friday against West Division No. 1 seed Southern Oregon. If EOU drops its tournament opener, it will have to wait until 11:30 a.m. on Saturday to take on Carroll, Oregon Tech, or Great Falls in an elimination game.
LAST TWO STANDING
In this year's newly-revised conference, the last two teams remaining in the postseason tournament will advance to the 2016 NAIA Softball National Championship.
2016 CCC TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE
Friday, May 6
Game 1 @ 9 a.m. – No. 2 Eastern Oregon (East) vs. No. 3 Corban (West)
Game 2 @ 11:30 a.m. – No. 2 Oregon Tech (West) vs. No. 3 Great Falls (East)
Game 3 @ 2 p.m. – No. 1 Southern Oregon (West) vs. Winner of Game 1
Game 4 @ 4:30 p.m. – No. 1 Carroll (East) vs. Winner of Game 2
Saturday, May 7
Game 5 @ 9 a.m. – Loser of Game 2 vs. Loser of Game 3 (Loser Eliminated)
Game 6 @ 11:30 a.m. – Loser of Game 1 vs. Loser of Game 4 (Loser Eliminated)
Game 7 @ 2 p.m. – Winner of Game 3 vs. Winner of Game 4
Game 8 @ 4:30 p.m. – Winner of Game 5 vs. Winner of Game 6 (Loser Eliminated)
Sunday, May 8
Game 9 @ 11 a.m. – Loser of Game 7 vs. Winner of Game 8 (Loser Eliminated)
Game 10 @ 1:30 p.m. – Winner of Game 7 vs. Winner of Game 9 (Championship)
Game 11 (30 minutes After Completion of Game 10) – If Necessary
IT'S BEEN A WHILE
Regardless of the outcome in Ashland, EOU will book its first winning season since the 2005 campaign when the Mountaineers went 30-15 under current head women's basketball coach Anji Weissenfluh. The Navy and Gold has also registered its highest single-season win total since that time.
RECORD WATCH
This year's softball team is only three homers away from breaking the single-season record of 40 set by the 2013 squad. In addition, Barker needs just three more RBI to break the single-season record (51) posted by Cassie Wendt in 2015.
KLINE IS FINE
In her first year as a Mountaineer, Kline has established herself as a force to be reckoned with in the CCC. A transfer out of Blue Mountain Community College, the stellar sophomore ranks first in the CCC in shutouts (4), third in wins (13), fourth in innings pitched (126.0), second in strikeouts (94), eighth in starts (17), second in complete games (6), and fifth in opponent batting average (.247).
A recipient of the CCC Pitcher of the Week on April 18, Kline tallied 13 strikeouts in three games against the Warriors this season.
50 NEVER FELT BETTER
On March 24 in a doubleheader sweep over Northwest Christian, third-year head coach Betsy Westermann collected her 50th-career win at the helm of the Mountaineers.
A native of Duvall, Wash., Westermann surpassed former EOU and current Carroll head softball coach Aaron Jackson in career wins and sits second behind Weissenfluh in career winning percentage (.458).
LIVE STATS
While live video is not provided, live stats will be available via Southern Oregon's athletics website.
FOLLOW EOU ATHLETICS
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