Oregon Tech Takes Game 1 of NAIA Opening Round, 13-3, over Corban
KLAMATH FALLS, Ore. – A pair of Cascade Collegiate Conference foes opened up the Oregon Tech Bracket of the 2015 NAIA Softball National Championship Opening Round with two-seeded Oregon Tech pounding out 14 hits to defeat three-seed Corban University, in a shortened five-inning game due to the 8-run rule, 13-3, today at the OIT Softball Complex. Game two between top-seed Saint Xavier University, Ill. and Avila Univeristy, Mo. was postponed due to heavy rain prior to their contest.
Game two of the Oregon Tech Bracket will start Tuesday, May 12 beginning at 10 a.m. Tuesday's regular schedule will resume after game two.
Oregon Tech ran their overall mark to 42-14 and plays the winner of game two between Saint Xavier, Ill. and Avila University, Mo. Corban (38-17) will face the loser of game two in an elimination game on Tuesday. The winner of the Oregon Tech Bracket moves on the 2015 NAIA Softball World Series, presented by Security National Bank and Morningside College, in Sioux City, Iowa from May 22-28.
The Owls moved up 3-0 in their first at-bat. All three unearned runs came off Corban starter Jessica Holsinger. Holsinger took the loss falling to 12-4 in her 3 1/3 innings. Emily Buhrkuhl tossed the final 1 2/3 innings allowing five runs with just one earned. Of Tech’s 13 runs versus the Warriors, eight were unearned.
The Owls tacked on two more in the third. Tech loaded the bases and with one out Ariel Fulkerson singled, with Karly LeVeque drawing a walk to give the Owls a 5-0 advantage.
Three more runs in the top of the fourth came off Tasha Silvius’ 15
th home run of the season, a three-run blast to give Tech an 8-0 edge. Tech moved up 13-0 after scoring five in the fifth. Tre Sullivan, Sadie Birch and Fulkerson drove in a run each on singles with Kayla Prock highlighting the inning with a two-run double.
Corban would notch their first runs of the contest, three in the fifth, after RaeAnna Dorcas followed a Jamie Costa walk and Shelby Mauermann double with her fourth homer of the year, a three-run shot to centerfield. That would be all the scoring for CU with Tech’s Riley Carleton retiring the next two batters to win today’s opener by a 13-3 final.
Carleton moved to 18-4 in the circle, scattering eight hits and striking out six in her five innings of work.
Birch and Fulkerson finished with three hits and two RBI each with Silvius driving in three on her home run. Katie Virtue and Sullivan added a pair of hits each. McKenzie Shrum and Prock doubled in the win.
For Corban RaeAnna Dorcas homered and drove in three with Danielle Ackerman and Jamie Costa recording two hits each. Taylor Eilder added a double in the loss for the Warriors.