OIT uses long ball to sweep COyotes 

Oregon Tech smashed six home runs on the afternoon, helping the No. 6 ranked Owls to a doubleheader sweep of The College of Idaho, grabbing 5-3 and 14-6 victories this afternoon at Henley High in Klamath Falls, Ore.

OIT (26-4, 9-1 CCC) used a four-run fifth inning to break open a tight Game 1, then scored nine unanswered runs to erase a C of I lead in Game 2, winning the contest via the eight-run mercy rule.

The Lady Yotes (23-9, 6-6) had chances early in Game 1 - stranding runners at third base in both the first and third innings.  Tech took advantage of an error in the third to plate an unearned run, then broke the game open in the fifth, as Janelle Cromie launched a three-run homer to make it 5-0.  The C of I made it interesting in the seventh, as Hannah Johnson hit a two-out, three-run homer, but the Yotes were unable to bring the tying run to the plate.

Johnson and Nikki Shumway each had two hits for the Yotes, while no OIT hitter had more than one hit.  Taylor Schmidt worked around seven C of I hits to pick up her 13th win.

Game 2 saw OIT jump out to a 5-0 lead after three innings - as Amber Knight hit a two-run homer in the second, with the Owls taking advantage of a C of I error in the third to plate three.  The Yotes did not falter, batting around for six runs in the fourth - as Kristen Haugen doubled in a run, Kaci Baldwin lined a two-run single, with Johnson smashing her second homer of the day to tie the score at 5-5.  Molly Mills added a run-scoring double to give The C of I their first lead of the day.

However, in the fifth, the defending NAIA champions used the long ball to put the game away - as Sara Coates, Knight, and Ashleigh Larson all hit two-run homers to give OIT a 11-6 lead, with a Coates two-run shot in the sixth, followed by a Shawna Collins RBI single ending the game.

The Yotes lost despite 13 hits, as Shumway, Mills, Haugen, and Nickayla Skinner all had two hits - however, the five home runs allowed in the game equaled a school record set by Cal Baptist last season.  Coates went 4-for-5 with five RBI for OIT.

The Lady Yotes, who will play 12-straight games on the road, return to action on Friday, traveling to Corban for a doubleheader.