KLAMATH FALLS, Ore. – Our Lady of the Lake recorded 14 hits off a quartet of Oregon Tech pitchers, as the Saints survived a pair of elimination games to force a Thursday winner-take-all title game with an 8-5 victory over the Lady Owls in the Klamath Falls Bracket of the NAIA Softball National Championship.
OLLU (42-11) won a 13-inning marathon to eliminate Dickinson State, 9-8, before registering the highest hit total against the Lady Owls in 13 months. The two teams will meet Thursday at 1 p.m. – with the winner claiming a berth in the NAIA Softball World Series. The game will be carried on the Urban Edge Network and 104.3/960 Sports.
It marks the fifth-consecutive "if necessary" title game at Stilwell Stadium – with OIT winning games against Jessup (2022), St. Xavier (2023) and Vanguard (2024), while losing last season to Midland in the finale.
Yezenia Perez and Marina Litterio did the damage for the Saints – each going 3-for-4 from the bottom two spots in the OLLU lineup.
The Saints took a 2-0 lead six outs into the game – scoring an unearned run in the first on a Lilly Rocha single and Litterio driving in a second inning run with a double.
Tech (43-9) got a run back in their second on a Leah Huffman RBI single, but Perez countered with a third inning RBI single to make it 3-1.
A strange sequence set up a 3-run third for the Owls, as an out call at third base on a Malia Mick sacrifice was overturned – loading the bases for Addison Kachnik – who tied the game with a 2-run single on the very next pitch. Puakea Milbourne gave OIT a 4-3 lead with a sacrifice fly.
Unfortunately for the hosts, OLLU took advantage of three fourth inning walks, followed by four-straight 2-out hits – including a go-ahead 2-run double from Novalee Gloria – part of a 5-run inning that gave the Texas school an 8-4 lead.
The Lady Owls had a chance in the seventh, as a Mick double pulled the squad within 8-5 and had the tying run at the plate with one out – but Annika Litterio got a pair of fly outs to secure the win.
Valeria Vielma threw five innings of 5-hit ball for the win. Nita Cook was 2-for-2 in the loss for Tech.
OLLU advanced after an instant classic against Dickinson State – a game featuring six home runs. The Saints had a 5-0 lead in the sixth, but the Blue Hawks got a 3-run Kiley Hubby homer and added four seventh inning runs to take the lead. Down to their final out, Garcia forced extra innings with a line-drive 2-run homer to tie the score at 7-7.
Both teams traded eighth inning solo homers, before Rocha won the game in walk-off fashion in the 13th, clubbing her second homer of the game.
Monday
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
Tuesday
GAME 4 – Arizona Christian 5, St. Thomas 4 (loser out)
GAME 5 – Oregon Tech 2, Our Lady of the Lake 1
GAME 6 – Dickinson State 7, Arizona Christian 3 (loser out)
Wednesday
GAME 7 – Our Lady of the Lake 9, Dickinson State 8 (13 inn.) (loser out)
GAME 8 – Our Lady of the Lake 8, Oregon Tech 5
Thursday
GAME 9 – Oregon Tech vs. Our Lady of the Lake, 1 p.m. (championship)