HELENA, Mont. – Mountaineers Softball closed out the 2022 regular season Saturday with a 2-1 series win over Carroll College. Impending inclement weather forced the two squads to play a tripleheader, while the fourth game was canceled.

The Mountaineers had a chance to secure their first Cascade Collegiate Conference crown since 1999, but needed to win all three league games to do so. The Saints spoiled the Mounties' efforts, taking game one, but the series still went to Eastern. With the 2-1 series win, EOU will be the No. 3 seed in the 2022 CCC Championships, presented by U.S. Bank.

Game 1 – Carroll College 6, Eastern Oregon 2
How it Happened
• Helping the Saints (14-31, 11-19 CCC) take game one was a five-run fifth inning. Two errors by EOU (39-13, 24-6 CCC) allowed four unearned runs to score to give the Saints the win.
• Going into the fifth, the Mountaineers had a 2-1 lead in what was shaping up to be a defensive battle. EOU threatened in the sixth, but never scored again after going up 2-1.
• Through the first two frames it was a defensive battle as neither team scored. EOU ended the scoreless bout in the top of the third.
• Caitlin Crist hit a two-run homer to center field, scoring her and Haley Ebner. The home run gave EOU the 2-0 ege, which the team held going into the fourth.
• Carroll responded in the bottom of the fourth inning as a solo home run to left center cut the score to 2-1. EOU limited the damage to just the run to stay in front by one entering the fifth.
• In the fifth, the Saints manufactured five runs, with four being unearned. A pair of EOU errors were costly as Carroll ultimately went ahead 6-2 before the frame came to a close.
• In the sixth, EOU got a pair of runners on Madison Stateler and Taylor Dow. The runners got to the corners, but the Saints held off EOU to escape the jam.
• Outside of the fifth, EOU played well on defense, but the offense fell silent the rest of the game. Carroll worked a 1-2-3 frame in the seventh to end the game for the win.

Mountaineers Stat Leaders
• Caitlin Crist batted 1-2, hitting a homerun, with two RBI and scored one run.
• Haley Ebner hit 1-2, drew a walk, and scored a run.
• Amanda Smith (16-5) pitched 4.1 innings in the loss and fanned five batters.

For the Saints
• Anna Davidson batted 2-3, hit a home run, had three RBI and scored two runs. 
• Amber Brewer was 2-2 at the plate and tallied two RBI.
• Abby Hanley (12-16) pitched a complete game in the win and had six strikeouts. 

Game 2 – Eastern Oregon 6, Carroll College 4
How it Happened
• The Mountaineers used a late rally to secure a come from behind win in game two to force a 1-1 series tie. EOU scored five unanswered runs in the seventh to win by two.
• Going into the seventh, Saints led 4-1 before EOU escaped with the win. Six hits combined with two Carroll errors helped Eastern score the five runs, with three being earned.
• For the game, EOU outhit Carroll 13-7. Defensively, the Mounties played a clean game with no errors, while the Saints committed four in the loss.
• The Saints struck first in the bottom of the opening frame. A three run homer to center field gave them the 3-0 edge and they held that lead until the fifth. 
• The Mounties ended their scoring drought in the fifth, scoring one run. Hannah Tyree led off with a base hit and scored on a Kayla Berg RBI double to make it a 3-1 game.
• Carroll got the run back in the sixth thanks to a bases-loaded RBI groundout to make it a 4-1 score. Eastern then mounted its comeback in the seventh.
• Karsyn Zaragoza got things started with a two RBI double, scoring both Grace Gaither and Taylor Dow. Two batters later Haley Ebner hit an RBI single, plating Zaragoza to tie the game at 4-all.
• An error at first base allowed Caitlin Crist to get on and ultimately scored Kayla Berg to make it 5-4. Madison Stateler then hit an RBI single, scoring Ebner to make it 6-4.
• In the bottom of the seventh, EOU quickly shutdown the Saints from making a comeback. Starter Mckenna Stallings wrapped up her complete game with a 1-2-3 frame for the win.

Mountaineers Stat Leaders
• Haley Ebner batted 2-3 with an RBI, a run scored, and drew one walk.
• Kayla Berg also went 2-3 at the plate with a run scored and an RBI.
• Hannah Tyree had the most hits, going 3-5 and scored a run.
• Karsyn Zaragoza hit 1-3 with two RBI and scored one run.
• Madison Stateler was 2-5 with one RBI.
• Grace Gaither went 2-4 at the plate and scored a run.
• Mckenna Stallings pitched a complete game to improve to 10-4. She struck out seven batters in the win.

For the Saints
• Amber Countryman hit 2-2 with three RBI, scored one run, and drew a walk.
• Amber Brewer went 2-3 at the plate in the loss.
• Kaitlynn Ayers and Rachel Vance both went 1-2 with a run scored. Vance also drew a walk.
• Abby Hanley (12-17) pitched a complete game in the loss and had two strikeouts.

Game 3 - Eastern Oregon 6, Carroll College 1
How it Happened
• The series finale was another defensive battle early one until a four-run fifth inning helped EOU earn the win. Carroll led 1-0 until the fifth, but managed just the one run in the loss.
• Eastern once again outhit the Saints, 8-2. The Mounties defense struggled a bit with three errors, while Carroll had just one. 
• The lone run for the Saints came in the bottom of the first inning. A leadoff error got a runner on before EOU got a pair of outs. A passed ball ultimately scored the run for the Saints.
• The score remained 1-0 through the next three innings. The Saints held EOU to without a hit until the fourth, but still kept them scoreless.
• Outside of the first inning, starter Amanda Smith did not allow a hit by the Saints again until the seventh inning. In the fifth, EOU's four runs came on four hits and they were all earned.
• The Mountaineers managed to load the bases with one out in the fifth. Caitlin Crist then knocked a two RBI double, scoring Rhyanne Oates and Karsyn Zaragoza.
• Two batters later, Hannah Tyree smacked a deep single to left field, allowing Crist and Shelby Starr to come in. The Mounties went into the sixth leading 4-1.
• Following a scoreless sixth inning, Eastern tacked on two insurance runs in the seventh. Crist led off with a double and was immediately scored on a Jenna Gray RBIA triple to make it 5-1.
• On the ensuing at bat, Tyree grounded out to second base for the RBI, allowing pinch runner Madison Stateler to score to make it a 6-1 game.
• The only other hit for the Saints was a double with two outs. The batter tried to make it a triple but was out at third on the throw to end the game.

Mountaineers Stat Leaders
• Caitlin Crist went 2-4 at the plate with two RBI and two runs scored.
• Hannah Tyree tallied three RBI and hit 1-4.
• Karsyn Zaragoza batted 2-3 with a run scored.
• Amanda Smith bounced back with a complete game to move to 17-5 and had six strikeouts.

For the Saints
• Michaela Fetzer went 1-3 at the plate.
• Emma Hamilton had a hit in two at bats 
• Abby Hanley scored the lone run. She pitched the last two frames and fanned two batters.
• Josie Barker (1-11) pitched five frames in the loss and had one strikeout.

By the Numbers
39 - The Mounties' 39 wins is now the second most in program history in a single season.
3 - Eastern will enter the 2022 CCC Tournament as the No. 3 seed.
26 - EOU finishes the regular season with 24 wins against CCC opponents.
6 - In both wins for the Mounties, they scored six runs.
5 - EOU held Carroll to just five runs in the final two games after surrendering six in the first.

Up Next
• The 2022 CCC Championships, presented by U.S. Bank. As the the No. 3 seed, EOU will face sixth-seeded Corban on Friday, May 6 at 11:30 a.m. Hosting the tournament will be Oregon Tech.
• Should the Mounties win game one, they will face No. 2 seeded Southern Oregon at 4:30 p.m. that same day. To see the full tournament schedule, click here.

FOLLOW EOU ATHLETICS