LA GRANDE, Ore – Mountaineers Softball wrapped up play at home Saturday morning with a split against No. 3 Oregon Tech. Eastern Oregon won game three of the series, 7-3, to secure a conference sweep and moved into a tie for first place in the league standings. 

Following the first game of day two, EOU Athletics honored eight outstanding seniors for their contributions to the Mountie Softball program. Being honored between games was Kayla Berg, Taylor Dow, Abby Giles, Natalee Hall, Rhyanne Oates, Jenna Gray, Amanda Smith, and Shelby Starr.

In the non-conference finale, OIT salvaged one win to avoid the sweep. The Hustlin' Owls secured a 9-6 win in eight innings.

Game 1 – Eastern Oregon 7, No. 3 Oregon Tech 3
How it Happened
• A four-run fourth inning was key in the Mounties (37-12, 22-5 CCC) four-run win over OIT (39-10, 22-5 CCC). EOU once again won the hitting battle, 9-4.
• The two squads played a close game up to the fourth as they were deadlocked in a 3-all tie. OIT actually led 3-1 entering the bottom of the third before EOU scored a pair of runs to tie.
• A sacrifice fly by the Owls in the top of the first got their first run on the board in the opening frame. Eastern responded as a Madison Stateler RBI fielder's choice scored Caitlin Crist.
• The lone run of the second came on a solo home run by Tech to push them back in front by one run, 2-1. In the third, OIT's lead grew to 3-1 on an RBI groundout before EOU ended the frame.
• The Mountaineers never allowed the Owls to score the rest of the game as stout defensive play came in clutch to secure the win. EOU then scored six unanswered runs between the third and fourth to secure the win.
• In the third, a Taylor Dow RBI fielder's choice to second brought home Shelby Starr to cut the OIT lead to 3-2. Grace Gaither then laid down an RBI bunt to the pitcher, allowing Stateler to score.
• EOU tied the game at 3-3 before Tech was able to escape the inning. In the top of the fourth, starter Amanda Smith allowed just one hit and got a trio of groundouts to get the EOU bats back out quickly. 
• Giving the Mounties their first lead of the day was Haley Ebner as she smacked a one-out solo home run to left field. Her bomb made it a 4-3 game and began the four-run rally.
• Despite a pitching change by OIT, the Mounties loaded the bases with one out. A Hannah Tyree sacrifice fly scored Starr to make it a 5-3 game.
• Dow pushed the Mounties' lead to 6-3 in the next at bat with an RBI single, scoring Crist. Capping the run was Gaither with an RBI base hit to center, bringing in Stateler yet again.
• With a 7-3 lead in hand, EOU's defense did the rest. Smith went the complete game and the defense did not allow a single hit in the final three frames.

Mountaineers Stat Leaders
• Grace Gaither hit 2-4 with two RBI.
• Haley Ebner went 2-3, with a home run, scored a run and had an RBI.
• Shelby Starr batted a perfect 2-2, scored two runs and drew a walk.
• Madison Stateler hit 1-4 with two runs scored and an RBI.
• Caitlin Crist was 1-3 at the plate and scored a pair of runs. 
• Taylor Dow finished 1-4 and had two RBI.
• Amanda Smith pitched another complete game and struck out three to improve to 16-4.

For the Hustlin' Owls
• Jayce Seavert was 2-3 at the plate with an RBI and scored a run.
• McKenna Armantrout also batted 2-3 and scored one run.
• Sarah Abramson suffered the loss to fall to 22-5. She had a game best four strikeouts.

Game 2 – No. 3 Oregon Tech 9, Eastern Oregon 6 (8 Innings)
How it Happened
• The Owls avoided the four-game sweep with an extra-innings win in the non-conference finale. The game featured 25 total hits, with OIT having the edge at 15-10.
• The game was knotted at a 6-all tie before a three-run homer by Tech in the top of the eight capped a four-run inning to lift them to the win.
• Following a scoreless first inning, OIT racked up three runs in the top of the second to go ahead. EOU got a run back in the bottom of the inning when Kayla Berg scored on a wild pitch.
• The Owls quickly went back in front by three, 4-1, with a one-out home run to left field. Once again EOU had an answer with three unanswered runs to tie the game at 4-4 entering the fourth.
• Grace Gaither matched OIT's home run, hitting her third of the series in the leadoff at bat to make it a 4-2 game. Abby Giles made it a 4-3 game with an RBI double, scoring Haley Ebner.
• Tying the game up for the Mounties was Jenna Gray as she hit an RBI sacrifice fly to score Caitlin Crist. EOU then took the lead in the fourth, 5-4, thanks to a bases-loaded walk by OIT that scored Natalee Hall.
• Tech tied the game in the fifth, 5-5, on an RBI single to deep center field. The game was deadlocked at a 5-all tie until the eighth.
• An RBI single scored the first run for the Owls to put them ahead, 6-5. With two runners on, OIT then delivered a three-run homer to center, making it a 9-5 contest.
• EOU looked to rally in the bottom of the eighth. Hannah Tyree hit a leadoff homer to left field, making it 9-6. Tech then got three force outs to hold off any hopes of a rally for their lone win.

Mountaineers Stat Leaders
• Hannah Tyree batted a perfect 2-2 with one RBI and scored a run on her homer.
• Kayla Berg went 2-4 at the plate with a run scored.
• Grace Gaither was 1-4, hitting a home run.
• Haley Ebner hit 1-3 and scored a run.
• Abby Giles finished 1-4 and had an RBI. She also pitched 4.1 innings and had a strikeout.

For the Hustlin' Owls
• Kennedy Jantzi batted 3-5, hit two home runs, had four RBI, and scored two runs.
• McKenna Armantrout went 3-5 at the plate with two runs scored and an RBI.
• Maggie Buckholz finished 3-4 with a run scored.
• Kaila Mick went 2-5 with two RBI.
• Mckenzie Staub (14-4) pitched five complete frames in a relief effort for the win. She had three strikeouts.

By the Numbers
3 - EOU took all three conference games from Oregon Tech.
1 - With the 3-0 sweep in league play, Eastern is now tied for first in the CCC.
1 - Head Coach Nicole Christian is one win away from 60 for her career.
3 - In the three CCC wins over OIT, EOU never allowed more than three runs.
5 - Eastern hit at least one home run in every game against Tech and tallied five total.
3 - The Mounties surrendered just three walks in the series, all of which came on day one.
37 - EOU's 37 wins this year is now tied for second most in program history in a single season.

Up Next
• The regular season finale. Eastern will head north to Montana next weekend to battle Carroll College, April 29-30. Day one action begins at 1 p.m. PT. Day two will get underway at 10 a.m. PT.

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