Jess Plummer homered in the second game of OIT's doubleheader sweep
Oregon Tech Sweeps SOU in Doubleheader
ASHLAND – Sixth-ranked Oregon Tech swept Southern Oregon in a pair of Cascade Collegiate Conference softball games Wednesday afternoon, winning 4-2 in the opener and 7-2 in the second game at University Field.
The losses drop Southern Oregon’s record to 13-9 overall and 3-3 in the CCC, while Oregon Tech improves to 22-4 overall and 5-1 in conference play. Both teams will return to action Saturday, with the Raiders hosting Eastern Oregon and the Owls hosting College of Idaho in doubleheaders.
Originally scheduled for Friday, Saturday’s games will begin at 11 a.m., with the previously-scheduled Saturday doubleheaders against C of I (for SOU) and EOU (for OIT) shifting to Sunday at 11 a.m.
No. 6 Oregon Tech 4, Southern Oregon 2
BOX SCORE
Oregon Tech took an early 1-0 lead and held on as Southern Oregon scored a couple of late runs. Taylor Schmidt earned the victory for the Owls, going the distance and limiting the Raiders to two runs on five hits. Jordyn Kurtz took the loss for SOU, yielding three earned runs on seven hits.
Ashleigh Larson finished with two hits for the Owls, the lone player for either team to tally multiple hits. Julia Willison put SOU on the board for the first time in the bottom of the sixth with a home run to left field.
The Owls scored the game’s first run in the top of the second. Sarah Coates was hit by a pitch, and she came around to score on Kayde Schaefer’s double to center to make it 1-0. Oregon Tech added two more in the top of the fifth. Morgan Barnes doubled and Shauna Collins followed with a triple to left and came in to score when Larson reached on an SOU error to make it 3-0.
Willison’s home run in the sixth gave SOU its first run, but the Owls got the run back in the top of the seventh. Logan struck out but reached first on a passed ball. Collins reached on a fielder’s choice and stole second, advancing to third on a throwing error. Larson brought her home with a single to center to put OIT back up by three.
The Raiders picked up one more run in the final frame. Kurtz led off with a double to right, and Sierra Miller tripled to center to pull SOU within two with no outs. Schmidt retired the next three batters to clinch the win for the Owls.
No. 6 Oregon Tech 7, Southern Oregon 2
BOX SCORE
Barnes picked up the complete-game victory for the Owls, limiting Southern Oregon to two seventh-inning runs in the win. Karlie Stephens took the loss for SOU, giving up three earned runs in four innings pitched.
Collins’ three hits led Oregon Tech as she homered and drove in three runs for the Owls. Kurtz picked up a pair of hits to lead the Raiders, while Willison and Katie Moy each homered in the loss.
Oregon Tech scored a pair in the second on three hits. With a runner on, Barnes, Amber Knight and Collins hit consecutive singles to put the visitors up 2-0. The Owls added a run in the third as Jess Plummer homered to left center.
Oregon Tech added a pair of runs in the fourth and fifth innings. Collins began the fifth with a solo home run to left, and Ashleigh Larson doubled and came in to score on Schmidt’s single up the middle. In the sixth, a pair of walks came back to haunt SOU as Kayde Schaefer and Barnes each walked and came in to score on an SOU error to make it 7-0.
The Raiders ended the shutout bid in the bottom of the seventh when Moy hit a solo home run to left field. Two batters later, Willison knocked her second home run of the day over the left field wall.