KLAMATH FALLS, Ore. – Making her NAIA National Tournament debut, Kristine Schmidt delivered a masterpiece, tossing a 2-hit shutout, as top-seeded Oregon Tech blanked Dickinson State, 4-0, in Game 3 of the NAIA Softball National Championship Opening Round Klamath Falls Bracket at Stilwell Stadium.
The Lady Owls (42-8) advanced to Tuesday's semifinals, meeting second-seed Our Lady of the Lake at 1:30 p.m. – with a spot in the championship game on the line.
Schmidt, the Cascade Conference Newcomer of the Year, worked out of a second-and-third jam in the first – coaxing a ground out to end the threat – with the righty allowing just three base runners the rest of the afternoon.
OIT got enough offense against the Blue Hawks (41-13), the Frontier Conference champs, as Sawyer Stenson launched a long solo homer to straightaway center in the second inning to grab a lead.
An inning later, the Owls strung together hits from Nita Cook, Malia Mick and Addison Kachnik, the later a bloop single to right to score Cook from second. Puakea Milbourne added a run-scoring single in the inning to extend the margin to 3-0.
Tech capped the scoring in the sixth, as singles from Brooklyn Loose and Leah Huffman was followed by a sacrifice bunt from Hayden Rockwell. Maggie Pizano capitalized, lifting a pinch-hit sacrifice fly to plate Loose.
Schmidt logged her 19th win of the season, allowing two walks and striking out four, with Mick and Huffman recording a pair of hits.
DSU reached Game 3 with a come-from-behind 8-4 win in the opener against Arizona Christian. ACU (36-14) broke a 3-3 tie in the fifth on an Elena Garcia RBI triple and held a one-run lead in the seventh, but the Blue Hawks pieced together a 5-run rally, with a Celina Wilharm 2-run single giving the North Dakota team the lead.
OLLU (40-10) won Game 2 over St. Thomas, 13-7, rallying from a pair of 4-run deficits. Jade Fayad gave the Bobcats (31-21) from Florida a 4-0 lead in the opening inning with a grand slam, but the Saints scored in every inning after the first – pulling within 6-5 in the third on Marisa Ramirez 2-run homer and taking the lead with a 5-run fifth, keyed by a go-ahead RBI triple from Arianna Alejandro and a 2-run homer from Lily Rocha. Valeria Vielma tossed three shutout innings for the win, with Ramirez going 4-for-4, part of a 20-hit attack.
All games Tuesday will be carried live locally on 104.3/960 Sports, with all games streamed live on the Urban Edge Network.
GAME 1 – Dickinson State 8, Arizona Christian 4
GAME 2 – Our Lady of the Lake 13, St. Thomas 7
GAME 3 – Oregon Tech 4, Dickinson State 0
GAME 4 – St. Thomas vs. Arizona Christian, Tuesday, 11 a.m. (loser out)
GAME 5 – Oregon Tech vs. Our Lady of the Lake, Tuesday, 1:30 p.m.
GAME 6 – Dickinson State vs. Winner Game 4, Tuesday, 4 p.m. (loser out)