LA GRANDE, Ore. – Eastern Oregon University dropped the first two games of its series against Oregon Tech on Saturday afternoon, falling 9-5 and 9-3 to the Owls.
Game 1
Oregon Tech wasted no time taking control. With the bases loaded and two outs in the opening inning, a walk forced in the first run before Aiden Corkery launched a grand slam to give the Owls a 5-0 lead. Eastern was retired in order in the first two innings as OIT seized early momentum.
The Owls extended their advantage in the third, using three consecutive singles and a fielder's choice to plate a run before another single pushed the lead to 7-0.
Eastern answered in the bottom half of the inning.
Alex Olague sparked the rally with a double, and
Afton Milton followed with a walk. Alex Demianew lined a single through the right side to score Olague and put the Mountaineers on the board.
Mario Landeros added a two-RBI single to cut the deficit to 7-3.
The Mounties continued to chip away when Demianew doubled and later scored on a groundout by Nagler, trimming the margin to three. Eastern's pitching staff settled in, holding Oregon Tech scoreless until the seventh inning, when the Owls strung together three hits to add two insurance runs.
Eastern mounted one final push in the ninth, scoring once more, but couldn't complete the comeback in the 9-5 loss.
Carson Glavich (1-1) earned the win after 5.1 innings of work, while Marcos Ulloa-For picked up the save.
Easton Corey (0-2) took the loss for Eastern.
Nolan Bentley and
Keola Yim combined for six innings of relief, allowing just two runs to keep the Mountaineers within striking distance.
Game 2
Oregon Tech again struck first in Game 2. After an error opened the second inning, Cal Pickhardt capitalized with a three-run homer to put the Owls ahead early.
Eastern responded in the third when
Easton Espinoza doubled and later came around to score on Demianew's second double of the afternoon. The Mountaineers added another run in the fourth with the bases loaded, taking advantage of a fielding error to make it 3-2.
The Owls pulled away in the fifth, tallying three runs on three hits and a walk to stretch the lead to 6-2.
Jace Nagler answered with a solo home run, but Eastern's offense cooled from there, managing just one hit the rest of the way.
Oregon Tech added to its lead in the seventh, capitalizing on two free passes and a fielder's choice to plate a run. The Owls capped their scoring in the eighth, using a double from Jacob Cook and an RBI single from Nick Gimino — along with two additional singles — to extend the lead to 9-3.
Crew Howell (1-0) earned the win with 3.2 innings of relief and five strikeouts.
Jace Schow (0-2) was charged with the loss.
Up Next
The Mountaineers will look to bounce back as the series continues Sunday, with first pitch scheduled for 11 a.m.
