KLAMATH FALLS, Ore. – Our Lady of the Lake spoiled the final home game in the careers of nine Oregon Tech seniors, capitalizing on a pair of early miscues to take a lead they would not surrender, as the Saints claimed the title of the Klamath Falls Bracket of the NAIA Softball National Championship with a 5-3 win at Stilwell Stadium.
OLLU (43-11) will join nine other teams next week in Columbus, Ga., at the NAIA Softball World Series.
The Lady Owls (43-10), who played in their 12th-straight Opening Round title game, were unable to hold an early lead in the quest for victory number 192 in the careers of their senior class.
Nita Cook gave Tech an early lead, starting the game with a single and scoring on a 2-out RBI single by Sawyer Stenson. The lead was gone five pitches into the bottom of the frame, as Arianna Alejandro singled on the first pitch and took second on a fielding error. Reanna Aguirre singled on a bunt and Caitlin Casas tied the score with a sacrifice fly. Later in the inning, Aguirre scored on a passed ball to make it 2-1.
An OIT error in the second led to an insurance run for OLLU, before the Owls cut the deficit to 3-2 in the third on an Addison Kachnik sacrifice fly.
The Saints extended the margin to 5-2 in the fourth, as Tania Rodriguez homered and Marina Litterio singled off the left field wall to plate another.
The Owls had chances in the fifth and sixth innings – putting two runners on with less than two outs. Hayden Rockwell scored on an error in the fifth to get Tech within 5-3, but could not get the key hit to pull closer.
Valeria Vielma allowed an unearned run in four innings to claim the win, as OLLU heads to their third World Series in four seasons. The Saints improved to 6-0 in elimination games in the 2026 postseason.
Cook was 3-for-4 in her final collegiate game, with Kachnik, Rockwell, Stenson and Puakea Milbourne adding a hit in their last OIT contest.