SALEM, Ore. – Nickayla Skinner tied College of Idaho’s single-season wins record, tossing a pair of complete games, as the Lady Yotes toppled two ranked teams to move into the title game of the Cascade Conference Championships at Warrior Field.
The Lady Yotes (33-21), winners of 13-of-14, opened the day with a 2-1 victory over No. 8 ranked and top-seeded Corban, and followed it up with a 3-1 victory over No. 24 ranked Oregon Tech.
The C of I will meet the winner of tomorrow’s Corban-OIT elimination game in the title game at 1:30 p.m. – needing just one win to earn a berth into the NAIA National Championships for the first time since 2009.
Game 1 saw the CCC regular-season champion Warriors (40-12) threaten in the first, putting runners at the corners with one out. However, Rachel Conard lined out to center, with Ashley Van Horne gunning out Stephanie Nippert at the plate to end the inning.
The Yotes took a 1-0 lead in the third on an Alexis Macias RBI single, extending the lead to 2-0 in the fifth on a Molly Mills solo home run. Corban got within a run in the fifth on a Brittany Chestnut RBI single, but Skinner worked out of a bases-loaded, one out jam. The Warriors got the tying run on base in the seventh, but could not plate the equalizer.
Skinner allowed just six hits and struck out four in the win, adding a 2-for-3 game at the plate. Mills and Macias also had two hits for the Yotes, while Chestnut had the lone two-hit game for the Warriors.
Game 2 saw the Yotes end an eight-game losing streak against the Owls (36-15), dating back to 2011. Skinner took a one-hit shutout into the seventh inning, striking out nine, to win her 22nd game of the year – equaling the mark set by Jody Zillner in 2009.
The C of I broke a scoreless tie in the third, as Kayla Webb lined a one-out home run to right-center. The Yotes nearly made it 2-0 in the fourth, but Katie Rowe was thrown out at home trying to score on a McKensie Stanton . An inning later, Macias punched an RBI single into right to make it 2-0, with Mills adding a run-scoring single in the sixth to make it 3-0.
Tech made it interesting in the seventh, as Melissa Logan hit a solo home run and the Owls brought the tying run to the plate. However, Skinner got a line-out and ground-out to end the game.
Mills and Stanton each had two hits in the win for the Yotes. Rylee Carleton took the loss for OIT, allowing two runs on six hits in five innings.
CCC Championships – Game 1: Oregon Tech 5, Concordia 3; Game 2: C of I 2, Corban 1; Game 3 C of I 3, Oregon Tech 1; Game 4: Corban 9, Concordia 7 (Concordia eliminated). Tomorrow’s schedule – Game 5: Oregon Tech vs. Corban (loser out), 11 a.m.; Game 6: C of I vs. Winner 5, 1:30 p.m.; Game 7 (if necessary).
