Mountaineers rally back for first CCC Tourney Title
ASHLAND -- Plainly dominant for a majority of the Cascade Conference Softball Tournament presented by U.S. Bank, Eastern Oregon needed a few fortunate bounces to complete its perfect run and secure its first title with a 3-2 win over Great Falls in eight innings Sunday at University Field.
The Mountaineers (29-21 overall), who entered as the No. 2 seed from the CCC's East Division, trailed 2-1 with two outs and nobody on in the bottom of the seventh inning. The rally started innocently enough, with Jorden Gerlach getting jammed and sending a blooper to the right side of the infield that dropped, took a funny bounce and turned into a single. Then Haley Hess lofted a pop-up that brought right-fielder Hali Gruntowicz in, and she attempted to make a sliding catch but the ball bounced off her glove. With Gerlach at third base, Taylor Turner hit a swinging bunt that rolled between the circle and first base and turned into another infield hit that brought the tying run home.
With two outs in the bottom of the eighth, EOU's Shelby Baertsch lined a double to right-center field. The next batter, Maryssa Santi, hit a grounder that was stopped by UGF's diving second baseman, Regan Rucks. Rucks attempted to flip the ball to first base, but as Santi was beating the throw Baertsch rounded third and slid home safely without a play for the walk-off win.
UGF (25-18 overall), the No. 3 seed from the East Division, and EOU had already secured the CCC's two automatic bids to the NAIA Opening Round coming into the game. UGF did so by defeating host Southern Oregon earlier on Sunday, 3-2, and would have needed to beat EOU twice to win the tournament title.
EOU's road to the title included wins over Corban (7-1 in nine innings Friday), SOU (12-11 on Friday), and Great Falls twice (3-0 on Saturday).
The final was considered an unlikely one, given that the West Division's tournament teams went 17-7 against the East during the regular season. During the tourney, however, they went 1-4 against the East.
Hailey Kline delivered another strong start for the Mountaineers, allowing two runs on seven hits in five innings. For the tourney she totaled seven earned runs in 24 1/3 frames. Haylie Van Laethem (9-13) earned the win, though, by tossing three innings of scoreless relief.
Keeley Van Blaricom (13-7) took the loss, going all 7 2/3 innings after getting a complete-game win over SOU earlier in the day. Her impressive tournament totals went to seven earned runs in 28 2/3 innings.
EOU took the initial lead when Alex Shuster ripped an RBI double down the left field line in the third inning to score Santi. The Argos responded with both of their runs in the fourth, when Kylie Prough hit an RBI single and Jocelyn Kaufman added an RBI double to make it 2-1.
Kaufman had three of UGF's 10 hits, while Turner had three of EOU's 11 and Santi, Shuster and Haley Hess had two apiece.
The NAIA Opening Round matchups will be announced on Tuesday.
SUNDAY MORNING RECAP -- GREAT FALLS 3, SOUTHERN OREGON 2
ASHLAND -- Great Falls' surprising run through the Cascade Conference Tournament went to a new level Sunday morning with its most clutch performance yet -- a 3-2 comeback knockout of tourney host Southern Oregon that put the Argos in the championship round and guaranteed them a spot in the national tournament.
Argos pitcher Keeley Van Blaricom didn't allow an earned run in her five-hitter, but four errors had her team down 2-1 going into the sixth inning. In the top half, she helped herself: Hali Gruntowicz led off with a single before Van Blaricom split gap in left-center field for a double that plated the tying run. Then, with two outs in the top of the seventh, Alex Lowry hit a single and Gruntowicz found the gap in right-center with a lined double that scored Lowry from first, making it 3-2.
The defense did come through for Blaricom to get the last three outs. SOU's Aaliyah Oliver, a speed centerfielder, led off with a single but was cut down by third baseman Chloe Cross at second when Kelsey Randall tried to bunt her over. After Alexa Gonzalez's single put runners at first and second with one out, Kayleen Smith hit a grounder to shortstop where Larson fielded, stepped on second and gunned to first for the final out.
Smith hadn't hit into a double play all season. Earlier in the game, she was caught stealing for just the third time in 46 attempts this season by catcher Jocelyn Kaufman.
SOU's Sydney White was the tough-luck loser. She allowed two earned runs in a complete game with four strikeouts and a walk. The Raiders (36-16) will hope for an at-large bid to the NAIA tournament when the field is announced next week.