KLAMATH FALLS, Ore. – Eastern Oregon University Softball wrapped up regular season play this weekend with a four-game road series at No. 6 Oregon Tech. The Mountaineers were unable to avoid the sweep and fell to the Hustlin' Owls in all four games.
 
Despite the sweep, EOU's season will continue next weekend as the Mountaineers clinched the No. 5 seed in the 2021 Cascade Collegiate Conference Championships Softball Tournament. EOU earned the No. 5 seed with a 10-17 conference record and had the tiebreaker over Warner Pacific after going 2-1 against the Knights in regular season play. EOU goes into postseason play with an overall record of 16-30.
 
Day 1 – OIT 2, EOU 1 (Game 1 | 8 Inn.) | OIT 5, EOU 1 (Game 2)
How it Happened
• Game 1 was a low scoring affair between the squads and needed one extra inning to determine the winner. The Owls (38-8, 21-6 CCC) outhit EOU 5-2 and had just one error in the win, while EOU committed two.
• OIT worked a 1-2-3 frame in both the first and second inning, while the Mountaineers allowed just one hit in each of the two frames to keep the game scoreless. The lone error for the Owls came in the third but it did not allow a runner to score.
• The Mountaineers went 1-2-3 against the Owls in the bottom of the third to keep it scoreless after three innings. EOU got its first of two hits in the top of the fourth but made nothing of it. OIT then ended the scoreless bottom in the bottom of the inning.
• A leadoff double followed by a single got two on and had runners at the corner for OIT. A fielder's choice to the shortstop got an out for EOU but allowed the runner at third to score and put the Owls ahead 1-0.
• It was a three up, three down fifth inning for both squads to keep the score at 1-0. The Mountaineers answered in the top of the sixth to tie the game at 1-all. A two-out solo home run from Madison Stateler to left center evened up the score and it remained 1-1 until the eighth.
• OIT won it in walkoff fashion in the bottom of the eighth as they got the leadoff batter on thanks to the second EOU error. A pair of groundouts advanced the runner before an RBI single scored the unearned run to close out the contest at 2-1.
• Game two saw the Owls post all five runs in the first two innings of work as they outhit the Mountaineers 7-3. Both teams committed one error and for EOU its lone run came in the seventh inning.
• A leadoff single followed by a sacrifice bunt and groundout got a runner to third for OIT. A deep single to center field plated home the run and gave the Owls the 1-0 advantage. The lone error for OIT came in the top of the second on a dropped fly by the shortstop.
• The error had no effect as the Owls kept it at 1-0 going into the bottom half of the frame. A leadoff walk and stolen base got a runner in scoring position. A single to left scored the runner and made it a 2-0 lead for OIT.
• The Owls then loaded the bases and a hit by pitch from the Mountaineers made it a 3-0 game. A bases loaded walk on the next at bat made it a 4-0 game before another hit by pitch pushed the Owls lead to 5-0.
• Over the next four innings, OIT allowed just one hit that came in the fourth and worked a 1-2-3 outing in the other three. The Mountaineers avoided the shutout in the seventh as Haley Ebner hit a solo home run to left field to bring the game two score to its final of 5-1.
 
Mountaineers Stat Leaders
• Madison Stateler went 1-3 with a home run and an RBI in game one.
• Alaina Wright also finished 1-3 at the plate in the opener.
• Amanda Smith pitched all of game one and had four strikeouts in 7.2 innings of work.
• Haley Ebner had both the Mountaineers' hits in game two as she went 2-3 with a home run.
• Ashton Kazmierski had one strikeout in the loss in 1.1 innings pitched.
 
Day 2 – OIT 5, EOU 0 (Game 3) | OIT 9, EOU 1 (Game 4 | 5 Inn.)
How it Happened
• The Owls limited the Mountaineers to just two hits for the second straight game as they picked up the shutout win. OIT had eight hits in the win but committed one error while EOU had a clean game with none.
• A leadoff single followed by a sacrifice bunt and an RBI base hit up the middle made it a 1-0 OIT lead after one. The lead grew to 2-0 in the second as a leadoff home run to left center put the Owls up by two.
• EOU got its first hit in the top of the third on a double from Haley Ebner but she was left stranded. OIT then hit another solo home run in the bottom of the frame, this time to left field, to jump ahead 3-0.
• A single followed by a sacrifice bunt and a walk put runners on the corner for OIT in the fourth before an RBI single to right field made it a 4-0 game. With runners still on the corners, the Owls then hit a single up the middle to bring in the fifth run of the game and go ahead 5-0 after four innings of play
• After the fourth, both teams worked a 1-2-3 frame in the fifth. OIT went three up, three down to start the sixth and got one more hit in the sixth. The only other hit for the Mountaineers came in the final inning of play from Makenzie Chambers.
• The finale ended in five as the Owls tacked on nine runs in the contest and surrendered just one to the Mountaineers. Neither team committed an error as OIT had an 11-5 edge in hits.
• A pair of doubles in the opening frame allowed the Owls to plate home two and go ahead 2-0. The score remained 2-0 until the fourth as the Mountaineers managed to get hits in the first three frames but were unable to make anything of them.
• Five hits in the fourth by OIT opened up the lead for the Owls to 6-0. Three straight singles scored the first two runs to make it 3-0 before a two RBI single to right made it a 5-0 game. The final run of the inning came on another single, this time down the right field line, to make it a 6-0 OIT lead.
• EOU's lone run of the finale came in the top of the fifth inning as Brianna Zweygardt hit a solo home run to left field to make it a 6-1 contest. OIT responded scoring three in the bottom of the fifth to end the game early.
• A leadoff single got runner on before a pair of groundouts moved the runner to third. A single up the middle plated the run home to make it 7-1. OIT then hit a two run homer to center field to close out the series by a final of 9-1.
 
Mountaineers Stat Leaders
• Jordan Henley had a hit in each of the two games. She was 1-2 in game three and went 1-3 in the finale.
• Makenzie Chambers also tallied a hit in each game. She went 1-3 in game three and 1-2 in game four.
• Brianna Zweygardt was 1-1 with a solo home run in the finale.
• Mckenna Stallings and Amanda Smith both struck out one batter in game three.
• Abby Giles pitched 3.2 innings in the finale and had three strikeouts.
 
By the Numbers
1 – This is the first time EOU has made the CCC Tournament under Head Coach Nicole Christian.
3 – The three runs scored by the Mountaineers against OIT is the lowest total amount in a series this season.
3 – EOU was swept in a series just three times during the regular season.
6 – With her home run in game two, Haley Ebner now has six on the season to lead EOU.
10 – Eastern finishes the 2021 regular season with 10 wins in CCC play.
 
Up Next
• EOU will go into the CCC Tournament as the No. 5 seed and take on fourth-seeded Corban University. Regular season champion Southern Oregon will host this year's tournament.
• The Mountaineers and Warriors will square off on Friday, May 7 at 9 a.m. in Ashland. If the Mountaineers win, they will face Southern Oregon that same day at 2 p.m. If the Mounties lose the first game they will not play again until the next day, May 8, in an elimination game at 11:30 a.m. To see the full tournament schedule, click here.

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