MOBILE, Ala. – Eastern Oregon University continued their quest to the Red Banner Wednesday afternoon, moving one step closer to the final site with a 4-2 upset over No. 1 seed University of Mobile to secure a spot in the Opening Round Championship matchup.
After weather and field conditions pushed the game back a day, the Mountaineers returned to the field ready to compete.
Eastern wasted no time getting on the board.
Raygun Klippert opened the game with a walk and later scored after a sacrifice bunt by
Isabella Lauerman and an RBI single from
Lexi Grumbois.
Emily Barry followed with a double to left field, extending the Mountaineers' lead to 2-0. Although Eastern loaded the bases in the inning, Mobile escaped further damage.
Natalie Dimitrov returned to the circle for Eastern and remained composed despite allowing two hits and working around a Mountaineer error. She induced key ground balls to keep the Rams off the scoreboard early.
Eastern threatened again in the second inning, loading the bases on a walk and two hit-by-pitches, but Mobile once again stranded all three runners. Dimitrov answered with a dominant bottom half of the inning, recording a flyout and back-to-back strikeouts to preserve the lead.
Mobile cut the deficit to 2-1 in the third inning, capitalizing on a walk and an Eastern error. The Mountaineers responded immediately in the fourth when Lauerman singled and later scored on Barry's RBI hit to push the lead back to two runs. The Rams answered again in the bottom half, using two singles and a sacrifice bunt to trim the margin to 3-2.
Eastern added an insurance run in the fifth after two batters reached via hit-by-pitch, and
Alexis Blankenship scored on a sacrifice fly from Klippert.
Maliyah Mann took over in relief and shut the door for Eastern, stranding runners in scoring position while recording a lineout and a strikeout in the fifth. Both teams turned double plays in a quick sixth inning, highlighted by a clutch liner caught by Barry, who doubled off the runner before she could return to the bag.
After Mobile retired Eastern in order in the seventh, Mann and the Mountaineer defense sealed the victory with two groundouts and a game-ending popup, securing the 4-2 win and a berth in the Opening Round Championship matchup.
Eastern will return to action Thursday at 2:30 p.m. CT against the winner of the elimination game between No. 1 seed Mobile and No. 4 seed Indiana Tech. A win would send the Mountaineers to the NAIA National Tournament Final Site beginning May 21 in Columbus.
