Sports
A7
Saturday, May 21, 2022
The Observer/File
Grace Gaither (15) receives a hero’s welcome at home plate after hitting a home run
during a game between Eastern Oregon University and Providence University at Peggy
Anderson Softball Field, La Grande, on Friday, March 25, 2022.
One
for the
RECORD BOOKS
EOU softball comes up one game short of NAIA World Series berth, sets program record for single-season wins
By DAVIS CARBAUGH • The Observer
O
KLAHOMA CITY — The Eastern Oregon
University softball program wrapped up a
historic season this week.
The Mountaineers were defeated 6-1 by Oklahoma
City University in the opening-round championship
game on Wednesday, May 18, but the season was far
from a disappointment. Eastern set a program record
for wins with 43, a season record that stood at 41 since
1999. Eastern fi nished the year with a 43-17 overall
record, going 24-6 in conference play.
“At the end of the day, we’re super happy and super
proud,” EOU head coach Nicole Christian said.
After falling to Texas A&M Texarkana in the open-
ing-round quarterfi nals, Eastern bounced back with
two resounding victories on the second day against
Williams Woods and a rematch against Texas A&M
Texarkana. Eastern bounced William Woods 8-4 and
then eliminated the Eagles in the rematch from the fi rst
day, 6-0.
The two wins set up the winner’s bracket matchup
with Oklahoma City in the opening-round champion-
ship, but ultimately the Mountaineers’ came up just
short of a trip to the NAIA World Series, falling 6-1 to
close the season.
The Stars of Oklahoma City, the No. 2 team in the
NAIA rankings, took an early lead over the Moun-
taineers in the opening-round championship game and
never looked back, relying on a big rally in the fi fth
inning to put the game out of reach.
In the fi fth, Eastern gave up three runs off a single,
passed ball and wild pitch — the Mountaineers trailed
4-0 at the end of the frame.
Just one inning later, Oklahoma City added another
run as Mallory McCoy grounded out to third to allow
Kaitlyn Jones to score and extend the lead to 5-0. As
the game continued to progress in Oklahoma City’s
favor, another run in the top of the seventh all but put
the game out of reach as Eastern headed into the fi nal
half inning down 6-0.
“I felt like we competed against one of the best
teams in the nation,” Christian said.
Eastern concluded the regular season with fi ve
players earning spots to the Cascade Collegiate Con-
ference teams. Amber Smith and Grace Gaither were
named fi rst team, while Caitlin Crist earned second
team and Shelby Starr and Karysn Zaragoza were
named honorable mention. The team fi nished third in
the regular season conference standings, as well as in
the conference tournament. Crist concluded the year
with 27 stolen bases, which is a program record for
steals in a season.
“We want to continue to build that tradition and I’m
excited for it,” Christian said.
The Mountaineers exceeded expectations this
season, competing side-by-side with several of the top
softball programs in the country. Eastern defeated nine
ranked opponents and managed to go 33-13 in games
not played in La Grande. Christian concluding just her
third year with the team, the Mountaineers will aim to
continue building off the winningest season in program
history in the years to come.
“We’re excited for the future, knowing that we’ll be
refueling next year and building on this year,” Chris-
tian said.
ON DECK
May 18 results
Friday, May 20
PREP SOFTBALL
La Grande at Pendleton/Griswold,
4:30 p.m.
COLLEGE SOFTBALL
(Games completed after print
Oklahoma City 6, Eastern Oregon 1
deadline)
PREP TRACK & FIELD
PREP BASEBALL
Cove, Elgin, Imbler, Powder
Valley, Union at OSAA 1A State
Championships, Eugene, TBA
Union at OSAA 2A State
PREP BASEBALL
Grant Union/Prairie City 8, Union/Cove 3
Grant Union/Prairie City 16, Union/
Cove 6
Pendleton/Griswold at La Grande,
4 p.m.
Alabama, all day
Championships, Eugene, TBA
La Grande at OSAA 4A State
Championships, Eugene, TBA
Thursday, May 26
COLLEGE TRACK & FIELD
Wednesday, May 25
Eastern Oregon at NAIA Outdoor
Championships, Gulf Shores, Alabama,
all day
COLLEGE TRACK & FIELD
Eastern Oregon at NAIA Outdoor
Championships, Gulf Shores,
Athletes make one last push at season’s end
DAVIS
CARBAUGH
CARBAUGH’S CORNER
L
A GRANDE — It’s that
time of year when local
athletes begin traveling
around the state for playoff s and
championships.
After a long season of sports,
the fi rst for me as a reporter at
The Observer, many local ath-
letes are wrapping up a full year
of accomplishments with play-
off s approaching in baseball,
softball, track and tennis.
First and foremost this
weekend are the track and fi eld
athletes, who are competing in
Eugene during the time of Satur-
day’s print version.
Several 1A and 2A teams
will have athletes in attendance,
while La Grande sends a sizable
group on both the boys and girls
sides.
While most of the Tigers’
girls runners are underclassmen,
many will likely place near the
top in their respective events.
On the diamond, things have
heated up as well for La Grande.
The baseball team is riding an
extensive winning streak into
the postseason — a large group
of upperclassmen look poised to
make a run at a state title.
For the softball team, a win-
ning season has included strong
performances from its senior
core as well several under-
classmen stepping up into
important contributing roles.
Union/Cove will look for a late
push on both the baseball and
softball diamonds, as the soft-
ball team has put together a 16-5
regular season.
At Eastern Oregon Univer-
sity, the softball team wrapped
up the program’s winningest
season in the school’s history.
The Mountaineers fi nished
just one game shy of a trip to the
NAIA World Series fi nal site,
but have little to be ashamed
about this season — the team
piled up nine wins against
ranked opponents and competed
alongside the top programs in
the country.
As the spring wraps up, East-
ern’s track athletes are set to
travel to Gulf Shores, Alabama,
to compete in the NAIA Out-
door Championships, which
begin on Wednesday, May 25,
and conclude on May 27.
As always, our recap cov-
erage of local games will be
available online at our website
and other noteworthy stories
will be published in the print
editions.
█
Davis Carbaugh covers news and sports
for The Observer. He can be contacted at
dcarbaugh@lagrandeobserver.com.
Find up-to-date scores and additional game coverage
for your local high school, available 24/7 at
www.lagrandeobserver.com.