LA GRANDE, Ore. – Mountaineers Softball had its biggest upset in recent memory come on Friday afternoon as they swept day one over No. 3 Oregon Tech. Eastern Oregon took down the Hustlin' Owls in walkoff fashion in both games to secure the conference series win.

EOU won game one 4-3 before coming back to win game two 3-2. With the day one sweep, Eastern picks up its first series win over a ranked opponent and it is the team's first conference series win over 15 years against OIT.

Game 1 - Eastern Oregon 4, No. 3 Oregon Tech 3
How it Happened
• A three-run seventh inning lifted the Mounties (36-11, 21-5 CCC) to the comeback win. They outhit the Hustlin' Owls (38-9, 22-4 CCC) 8-4, while both teams had two errors.
• The game was a defensive battle through the first four frames. OIT led 1-0 after one before EOU tied it in the fourth frame.
• Giving Tech the lead back was a pair of runs in the fifth before Eastern made its comeback. OIT got on the board in the first thanks to a wild pitch to go up 1-0 to start.
• EOU threatened in both the second and third inning, but both times OIT escaped the jam. In the fourth, Grace Gaither delivered a solo home run to left center, tying the game at 1-all.
• Starter Amanda Smith was solid in the circle. She shook off the slow start and worked 1-2-3 frames in the second and fourth to keep a stout OIT offense at bay.
• A leadoff hit in the fifth set up the first of two runs for Tech. A two-double out scored the first run before a fielding error allowed the runner to score and make it a 3-1 contest.
• Following a scoreless sixth frame, EOU worked a 1-2-3 frame to get the bats back out and rally. Allowing EOU to secure the comeback win was back-to-back bases loaded situations.
• Scoring the first run was Karsyn Zaragoza on an RBI single to right field from Caitlin Crist to make it 3-2. The next at bat saw Madison Stateler hit an RBI single to right as well which tied the game.
• On Stateler's base hit, a throwing error by second base to home ultimately gave EOU the win. Stateler's hit scored Rhyanne Oates while the error scored Shelby Starr for the win, 4-3.

Mountaineers Stat Leaders
• Grace Gaither went 2-3, hit a home run, had an RBI, and scored one run.
• Caitlin Crist hit 2-4 with one RBI.
• Shelby Starr batted 1-3 with a run scored.
• Madison Stateler was 1-4 at the plate and had an RBI.
• Amanda Smith pitched a complete game and had three strikeouts to improve to 15-4.

For the Hustlin' Owls
• Kaila Mick batted 1-2 with a run scored and an RBI.
• McKenna Armantrout was 1-3 with a run scored.
• Aubrie Businger and Zoe Allen both went 1-3 at the plate.
• Sarah Abramson (22-3) pitched a complete game in the loss and fanned eight batters.

Game 2 – Eastern Oregon 3, No. 3 Oregon Tech 2
How it Happened
• Game two was another defensive fight that saw EOU win in walkoff fashion. Eastern also outhit OIT yet again, this time 7-5. Both teams had one error in the game.
• This time around EOU grabbed the game's early lead thanks to a second home run from Grace Gaither. Tech scored no more than one run in any inning, with both coming late.
• It was in the second inning when EOU grabbed the game's first lead. Gaither hit a one-out solo shot to center field that put the Mounties in front 1-0. It remained 1-0 until the fifth. 
• In the circle, Mckenna Stallings held OIT to just two hits in the first four frames. She gave no more than two hits in any frame in the complete game.
• Fast forward to the fifth, the Hustlin' Owls ended their scoring drought with a run scored. An RBI single allowed OIT to score a run that was ultimately unearned from an EOU error.
• The base hit locked the game into a 1-1 tie. Following a scoreless sixth inning, the seventh set up what was a nail biting finish.
• Identical to what EOU did in the second frame, Tech grabbed its first and only lead of the game with a one-out solo home run. Stallings held composure though and limited the damage to a run.
• Trailing 2-1, Eastern rallied in the bottom of the seventh with two runs scored on three hits and had help with an OIT error. EOU loaded the bases and scored a run on an error by OIT's pitcher.
• Eastern then got the bases loaded again as Shelby Starr was hit by pitch. Delivering the gamewinning hit was Caitlin Crist with an RBI single to right field that scored Karsyn Zaragoza to bring the score to its final of 3-2.

Mountaineers Stat Leaders
• Grace Gaither was dominant going 3-3, with a home run. She scored two runs and had one RBI. 
• Caitlin Crist batted 2-4 yet again and had the gamewinning RBI.
• Karsyn Zaragoza went 2-2 at the plate, scored a run, and drew one walk.
• Mckenna Stallings pitched a complete game and had a game-high four strikeouts to improve to 9-4.

For the Hustlin' Owls
• McKenna Armantrout batted 2-4 with an RBI and was the only player with multiple hits.
• Lexi Klum went 1-3 at the plate with an RBI, a run scored, and drew a walk. 
• Zoe Allen was 1-3 with a run scored, but struck out twice. 
• Mckenzie Staub pitched 5.1 frames and had three strikeouts in the no-decision.
• Sarah Abramson suffered the loss, falling to 22-4, in one inning of work.

By the Numbers
3 - With her two home runs on Friday, Grace Gaither now has three on the year.
1- With the day one sweep, EOU picked up its first series win over a ranked opponent this year.
5 - Mckenna Stallings pitched her fifth complete game of the year in the game two win.
15 - Amanda Smith pitched her 15th complete game in the series opening win.
1 - The day one sweep gives EOU its first sweep over OIT under head coach Nicole Christian.
9 - Eastern has now pushed its win streak to nine straight games with the day one sweep.
.500 - With the two wins on Friday, head coach Nicole Christian is now .500 for her career (58-58).

Up Next
• The Mounties and Hustlin' Owls wrap up the series Saturday with another doubleheader, starting at 11 a.m. at Peggy Anderson Field.
• Following game three, EOU will honor eight outstanding seniors in Kayla Berg, Taylor Dow, Abby Giles, Natalee Hall, Rhyanne Oates, Jenna Gray, Amanda Smith, and Shelby Starr. 

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