Oregon Tech earned a berth in the NAIA championship game Tuesday when the Owls won a pair of loser-out games in the national tournament at Columbus, Ga.
OIT defeated Marian (Ind.) 8-5, then beat Cumberlands (Ky.) 3-0 to set up an all-Oregon NAIA final between the Owls and Southern Oregon.
Southern Oregon (49-12) plays Oregon Tech (54-9) at 2 p.m. in the championship game. Because the Raiders have yet to lose a game in the tournament, Oregon Tech must beat SOU twice to win the championship. A second game, if necessary, follows Wednesday night.
Southern Oregon defeated the Owls 10-0 earlier in the tournament. But Oregon Tech swept the four-game regular season series from the Raiders on the way to winning the conference title.
This is the second time in three years the two Southern Oregon schools have played for the NAIA championship. SOU beat Oregon Tech 7-5 in the 2021 title game. The Raiders also won the 2019 championship.
OIT won the 2011 national championship.
In Tuesday’s opener, Oregon Tech bounced back from a 5-3 deficit with a four-run fifth to beat Marian. Maggie Buchholz and Puakea Milbourne had two hits each for the Owls. McKenzie Staub pitched 4 2/3 innings of three-hit shutout relief to help the Owls advance.
Trailing 5-3 in the top of the fifth, Milbourne doubled in two runs to tie the game. Milbourne then scored the go-ahead run on a wild pitch.
Nita Cook hit a two-run double for Oregon Tech.
In the nightcap, the Owls got all the scoring they needed with two runs in the first inning. Kacie Schmidt, chased in the third inning against Marian, threw a four-hit shutout to improve her season record to 29-1.
Jayce Seavert and Lexi Klum had two hits and an RBI each for Oregon Tech.
In the first, Zoe Allen reached base on an error as the leadoff hitter. After another error and a wild pitch moved Allen to third, she scored on a sacrifice fly by Buckholz. Kalia Mick, who walked, scored on a single by Klum.
The Owls added a run in the fifth when Seavert’s single to left scored Mick.
–Nick Daschel | ndaschel@oregonian.com | @nickdaschel
