LA GRANDE, Ore. – For the third time in the last four years, the Cascade Conferece Softball Championship presented by U.S. Bank heads to Klamath Falls, Ore. as a berth to the NAIA Opening Round is on the line for the victor. Action begins at 9:00 a.m. on Thursday morning at the OIT Softball Complex.
No. 1 Seed – Oregon Tech Hustlin’ Owls
Oregon Tech plays host to the championship as the top seed and regular season champion and will open the tournament against fourth-seed and rival Southern Oregon. The Hustlin’ Owls posted a CCC-best .328 batting average in the regular season, led individually by Shauna Collins (.395) and Danielle Sayres (.393). OIT has also been tough in the circle, posting a team era of just 2.86 in 274 innings pitched.
No. 2 Seed – Concordia Cavaliers
Concordia enters as the second seed after finishing one game back of Oregon Tech in the regular season schedule. The only team to make all five CCC softball tournaments, the Cavaliers are third in the CCC in batting (.311) and second in pitching (2.60). Taylor Bussey finished the regular season tied for the conference lead in home runs with 10 this season. They will open up the tournament by taking on College of Idaho in the first game of the day.
No. 3 Seed – College of Idaho Coyotes
After winning the tournament last season as the fourth seed, College of Idaho returns to the CCC Softball Championship as the third seed this year. The Yotes, who were previously selected as a host for the NAIA Opening Round and are assured a bid, are led by the 1.44 ERA and 192 strikeouts from senior Nickayla Skinner. College of Idaho is tough on offense as well, posting a second-best .317 team batting average with a league-best 11 triples.
No. 4 Seed – Southern Oregon Raiders
The Southern Oregon Raiders picked up the fourth seed on the final day of the regular season and heads into the postseason with a record of 14-14 in conference play. SOU struggled from the plate this season, hitting just .262 as a team but the Raiders did what they needed to do to win, leading the CCC in both hit by pitch (23) and sacrifice flies (16).
Oregon Tech will be providing live statistics for all games at
www.oitsports.com. All games will also be available via live video stream at
http://client.stretchinternet.com/client/oit.portal. Single games will be available for $9.95 or a tournament package will be available for $29.95.
The champion of the 2014 CCC Softball Championship presented by U.S. Bank will earn the conference’s automatic selection to the NAIA Opening Round, which is set to begin on May 12.
2014 CCC Softball Championship presented by U.S. Bank Schedule
Thursday, May 1
Game 1 (9:00 am) - #3 College of Idaho vs. #2 Concordia
Game 2 (11:30am) - #4 Southern Oregon vs. #1 Oregon Tech
Game 3 (2:00 pm) – Game 1 Winner vs. Game 2 Winner
Game 4 (4:30 pm) – Game 1 Loser vs. Game 2 Loser (Loser Eliminated)
Friday, May 2
Game 5 (11:00 am) – Game 3 Loser vs. Game 4 Winner (Loser Eliminated)
Game 6 (1:30 pm) – Game 3 Winner vs. Game 5 Winner
Game 7 (4:00 pm) – Game 6 Winner vs. Game 6 Loser (If Necessary)