LA GRANDE, Ore. – With just one game separating the teams in the race for the Cascade Collegiate Conference regular season title—and only one conference matchup remaining—Eastern Oregon and Oregon Tech met once more Saturday afternoon on Senior Night in La Grande, with the title, hosting rights of the CCC Tournament and the #1 seed on the line. Eastern ultimately fell 5-3 in game three, while also falling 9-3 in the non-conference matchup.
Game 3
Natalie Dimitrov returned to the circle for the Mountaineers and delivered a strong start, tossing three scoreless innings backed by a clean defensive effort, including a double play in the first. Eastern Oregon struck first in the second inning, stringing together four singles. Back-to-back base hits from
Brylin Field and
Elizabeth Heinz drove in two runs to give the Mounties an early advantage.
Oregon Tech answered in the fourth. Singles from Addison Kachnik and Puakea Milbourne, followed by a game-tying double from Sawyer Stenson, evened the score at 2-2 and prompted the first pitching change of the game. With the bases loaded,
Maliyah Mann worked into a strikeout, but a wild pitch allowed the go-ahead run to score, putting the Owls in front.
The Owls threatened again in the fifth, placing two runners on immediately and forcing another Mountaineer pitching change.
Camille Schmitz entered in relief and shut the door, striking out her first batter before inducing a foul out and groundout to escape the inning unscathed. Oregon Tech, however, added insurance in the sixth on a two-run home run from Brooklyn Loose to extend the lead to 5-2.
Kristine Schmidt kept the Mounties' offense in check after the second inning, allowing just four baserunners—via walks and an error—until the seventh. In the final frame, Eastern mounted a late push. Heinz drew a leadoff walk, and with two outs,
Lexi Grumbois delivered an RBI single to cut into the deficit. With
Hope Burke representing the potential tying run at the plate, she hit a sharp liner to first base, but a quick reaction catch ended the threat and secured a 5-3 victory for the Owls.
With the win, Oregon Tech claimed the CCC regular season title outright and earned hosting rights for the conference tournament.
Schmidt (17-2) went the distance in the circle for the Owls, while Dimitrov (8-3) was tagged with the loss for Eastern Oregon.
Following the game, Eastern Oregon honored its senior class—
Natalie Dimitrov,
Kelly Monaghan,
Hannah Ebner, Bella King,
Emily Barry,
Hope Burke,
Madison Shell,
Alexis Blankenship,
Kaya Enriquez, and
Camille Schmitz—for their contributions to the program.
Game 4
In the final game of the regular season, Eastern Oregon rolled out a lineup featuring its seniors.
Oregon Tech once again struck first, plating a run in the second inning on a pair of singles and an RBI groundout. The Owls extended their lead in the third after Nita Cook doubled and later scored on a sacrifice fly. They added another run in the fourth, capitalizing on a leadoff walk, a fielding error, and a hard-hit ball back to the pitcher to take a 3-0 advantage.
Oregon Tech maintained its momentum on both sides of the ball, limiting Eastern Oregon to minimal traffic on the bases while continuing to build offensively. The Owls added two runs in the fifth and broke the game open with four more in the sixth to put the run rule in effect.
Eastern refused to go quietly.
Isabella King led off the sixth with a solo home run, followed by a double to center from
Raygun Klippert. After advancing to third on a sacrifice bunt by
Alexis Blankenship, Klippert scored on a groundout from
Emily Barry to extend the game.
Hope Burke then launched a solo home run to further cut the deficit to 9-3 and force Oregon Tech's first pitching change of the game.
Carli Moore entered in relief and recorded the final out of the inning before closing out the seventh to secure the 9-3 win for the Owls.
Jenna Gorden pitched 5.2 innings to earn her sixth win of the season for Oregon Tech. Despite the losses, the Mountaineers took the CCC series 2-1, while splitting the overall series 2-2.
Up Next
Eastern Oregon will travel to Klamath Falls for the Cascade Collegiate Conference Tournament, hosted by Oregon Tech, beginning Friday, May 1. Final seeding and tournament details will be announced April 26 following the conclusion of conference play.
