KLAMATH FALLS, Ore. – Mountaineers Baseball battled on the first day of their conference opening series but ultimately came up short in a doubleheader on Sunday afternoon against in-state rival Oregon Tech. The Hustlin' Owls won both games by finals of 6-5 and 3-0 to go up 2-0 on Eastern Oregon. With the two losses, EOU is now 7-20 overall and 0-2 to start league play.

Game 1 – Oregon Tech 6, Eastern Oregon 5
How it Happened
• The Mountaineers led the majority of the game at 4-1, but a late surge by OIT (19-9, 2-0 CCC) gave them the win. They scored five runs in three frames to secure the comeback.
• Eastern managed to outhit OIT 10-8 in the opener. The Hustin' Owls though had just one error compared to two by the Mounties.
• Eastern grabbed its first lead in the second frame, scoring three runs while OIT added one to make it a 3-1 game. Four hits in the top of the second allowed EOU to go up 3-0.
• Elliott Marks plated home the first run with an RBI single to left, scoring Matt Garcia. Ethan Snodgrass made it 3-0 with a base hit to center that scored Mars.
• EOU made it 3-0 thanks to an Adrian Roa double that brought in Kyler Lunny who pinch ran for Snadograss. OIT got a run back with an RBI groundout to second that made it 3-1.
• The Mounties pushed their lead to 4-1 in the top of the third thanks to a pair of hits. A Marks single to deep left field scored Brooks Dyer who got on with a leadoff walk.
• The score remained 4-1 in EOU's favor until OIT scored twice in fifth to get within one, 4-3. Tech tallied three hits and scored runs on a sacrifice fly and a single to make it a one-run bout.
• Fast forward to the seventh, a hit by OIT and an EOU error scored three runs to give Tech a 6-4 lead. A bases loaded error at first scored two runs before a wild pitch added the other run.
• The Hustlin' Owls held a 6-4 advantage the rest of the way until the ninth. EOU tacked on one more run with the hopes of making a comeback, but fell short.
• The final run for EOU was scored on a Dyer RBI single, allowing Austin Gerding to score. Helping EOU score the run was an OIT error before Tech ended the contest to secure the win.

Mountaineers Stat Leaders
• Elliott Marks hit 3-4 in the opener. He tallied two RBI and scored one run.
• Matt Garcia went 2-4 at the plate and scored one run.
• Brooks Dyer batted 1-4 in the loss with one RBI and scored one run.
• Austin Gerding also finished 1-4 and scored one run.
• Starter Jaydon Yancey pitched 6.2 innings in the non decision and had four strikeouts.

For the Owls
• Kaleb Keelan was 1-4 and had two RBI.
• Mitchell Swanson went 3-4 at the plate with two runs scored.
• Matthew Ortiz hit 2-3 in the win and had one RBI to go along with a run scored.
• Reliever Braeden Bellum (1-1) earned the win. He pitched 5.0 frames and had six strikeouts.
• Starter Dylan Grogan pitched 4.0 innings in the start and had five strikeouts.

Game 2 – Oregon Tech 3, Eastern Oregon 0
How it Happened
• The second game was a low scoring affair as the Owls blanked the Mounties 3-0 to secure the day one sweep. OIT won the hitting battles, 9-3, while each team had one error.
• Tech scored just one run in three different frames and held the EOU bats at bay to hold on for the win. They held EOU to just one hit in three different innings.
• The first run for OIT came in the third. Back-to-back singles paired with an EOU error plated home the run before EOU ended the frame to trail 1-0.
• Helping OIT in the win was 1-2-3 frames in five of the nine innings of action. Tech made it a 2-0 game in the fifth as a two-out double followed by an RBI base hit to center scored the run.
• EOU looked to get back in the game, but the Hustlin' Owls defense held their offense at bay to maintain the shutout. The final OIT run came in the eighth to bring the score to a final of 3-0. 
• EOU managed to get two straight outs before back-to-back hits by OIT scored the last run. Another two-out double followed by a single scored the insurance for Tech.
• Eastern threatened in the ninth as a leadoff walk, followed by a double got runners in scoring position. OIT escaped the jam striking out the next three batters to secure the 3-0 shutout. 

Mountaineers Stat Leaders
• Donovan Gonzalez went 1-3 at the plate.
• Adrian Roa had one hit in three at bats.
• Trevor Curl hit a double as a pinch hitter.
• Davis Brown (0-1) pitched a complete game in the loss and had a game-best eight strikeouts.

For the Hustlin' Owls
• Matthew Ortiz went 2-3 at the plate with an RBI and scored one run.
• Ian Peters batted 2-4 in the win and tallied one RBI.
• Starter Patrick Armman (4-1) pitched 8.0 innings and had seven strikeouts in the win.
• Reliever Brodie Malaoney had three strikeouts in 1.0 inning to earn the save.

By the Numbers
10 - EOU racked up 10 hits in the series opener against OIT.
5 - The Mounties drew five walks on day one against the Hustlin' Owls
10 - Oregon Tech has now won the last 10 games over Eastern since EOU reinstated the program.

Up Next
• Eastern and Tech will wrap up the series on Monday. March 21 with two more games. The doubleheader is set to begin at 11 a.m. in Klamath Falls.

FOLLOW EOU ATHLETICS