College of Idaho and OIT Split Doubleheader for Second-Straight Day

No. 7 Oregon Tech and No. 13 College of Idaho split a doubleheader on Saturday as the Owls winning game one by a 7-5 margin and the Yotes winning the nightcap by a 2-1 margin. The game one victory by OIT secured the crucial CCC series over the Yotes.
 
Game one saw Oregon Tech score four runs – three in the first and another in the second – in the first two innings on its way to a 4-0 lead. The Owls stretched its lead to 7-0 with a three-run fourth inning for the lead. Down 7-0, in the bottom of the fourth, College of Idaho plated three runs on a three-run home run by Hattie Hruza. A comeback effort continued with a two-run home run by Kaily Christensen in the sixth inning cut the deficit to two. The Yotes had the tying run at the plate in the seventh with a runner on first but OIT starter Kacie Schmidt got a pair of ground outs and a fly out to end the game.
 
Oregon Tech managed eight hits in the win, two each from Zoe Allen and Jayce Seavert and Kaila Mick had two RBI in the win. Hruza went 2-for-3 with three RBI and two runs scored to lead the College of Idaho offense.

Game two saw College of Idaho pull off a 2-1 win over Oregon Tech in a non-conference game in the series finale. Freshman Chloe Flerchinger had two hits including a RBI single to propel the Yotes to the win. Staub for OIT led the Owls with two hits as they had just six in the loss.
                                                                                                                                             
Flerchinger got College of Idaho aboard with a RBI single, scoring Tanner Higgins from second after a walk to lead off the second inning. The Owls came back to tie it at 1 on a RBI ground out in the third. College of Idaho stranded a pair of base runners in the third and one more in the fourth.
 
With the game tied at 1, in the sixth, Higgins reached on an Owls error to start the inning. She managed to steal second to move into scoring position, then Hattie Hruza laid down a sacrifice bunt to move her to third. Then, the freshman from Bend delivered one of the biggest hits of her young career with a single to left field to put the home team ahead 2-1. A pitching change by the Owls kept College of Idaho from adding to its lead.
 
In the seventh for the Owls, a pop out and a ground out brought Kacie Schmidt to the plate, who was looking to help her own cause. She managed to hit a single to left field and an alert Brinley Iverson took away the opportunity to make it a double as she threw to Makayla Frias at second to end the game.
 
College of Idaho starting pitcher Katelyn Wilfert went the distance, scattering six hits and striking out two in the win to raise her record to 8-0.  For Oregon Tech, Mckenzie Staub was the losing pitcher after a 5.1 inning outing, allowing two runs (one earned) as she falls to 5-3 on the season.
 
Next, the No. 13 College of Idaho softball team will travel to Kirkland, Washington for a four-game series against Northwest. Action gets underway with a doubleheader on Friday, Mar. 10 at 1 p.m. (PST)/2 p.m. (MT).