SAN ANTONIO – For the first time since 2001, Eastern Oregon softball is headed to the NAIA World Series.
Hope Burke delivered the biggest swing of her career on Tuesday, launching a walk-off, three-run homer in the bottom of the eighth inning to lift No. 2 seeded Eastern Oregon to a 3-0 extra-inning victory over top seeded Our Lady of the Lake in the NAIA Opening Round Pool Championship.
Scoreless through seven tightly contested innings, Eastern finally broke through in the eighth. After a leadoff single from Madelyn Durham and a sacrifice bunt by Hannah Tyree, the Mounties popped out for the second out of the frame. But with two away, Madison Olson was hit by a pitch to extend the inning. That brought Burke to the plate, and the junior crushed a pitch over the left field wall for her second home run of the opening round, sending the Mountaineer dugout into celebration.
Wednesday saw another impressive performance from Kylie Parsons, who tossed a complete-game shutout to improve to 20-0 on the season. She scattered just four hits over eight innings, struck out six, and did not allow a single runner past second base. Parsons threw every pitch of the opening round, a crucial peice in helping the Mounties secure their spot at the final site.
Offensively, Olson led the way with a 2-for-2 day and reached base in all four plate appearances, while Madelyn Durham, Emily Barry, Raygun Klippert, Haley Tyree, and Kelly Monaghan each added a hit to round out the eight-hit attack.
The Mountaineers played error-free softball in the pool championship and outscored opponents 10-4 during their time in San Antonio. The win capped a perfect 3-0 run through the San Antonio bracket and sends the Mountaineers to Columbus, Georgia, for the 2025 NAIA World Series, held May 22–28 at the South Commons Complex.