Oregon Tech And Cal Baptist Set For Title Game At 12:30 P.M.
May 25, 2011
GULF SHORES, Ala. – Oregon Tech (41-12) and California Baptist (65-4) will square off in the 2011 NAIA Softball National Championship game Wednesday, May 25 at 12:30 p.m.
The 31st Annual Event is being held at the Gulf Shores Sportsplex.
The matchup offers a pair of teams with vastly different postseason histories. California Baptist is 49-14 all-time in tournament play. This is the Lancers’ eighth trip to postseason play, and they have made the title game three times, winning it all in 2009.
Oregon Tech is in the tournament for only the second time, and first since 1997. The Owls are 7-2 all-time at the NAIA Softball National Championship, with six of those victories coming this year.
The apparent mismatch is only fitting in an odd National Championship where teams have combined to set a new record with 30 combined shutouts, to go along with new marks in combined runs (450), combined RBI (393) and most games with 10+ runs scored by one team (10).
Despite gaudy numbers being put up by both pitchers and hitters in the tournament, the Championship should come down to pitching, as evidenced by the teams’ battle on Tuesday.
The Owls’ Jackie Imhof out-dueled Emma Holden to give Oregon Tech a 1-0 win in that game. Both teams managed only one hit in the game, with Oregon Tech’s Kayde Schaefer delivering a solo home run for the winning tally.
Furthermore, Oregon Tech sports a 0.35 ERA in tournament play, while Cal Baptist’s pitching staff has fanned 64 hitters in the tournament and allowed only 12 hits. The Owls have allowed only three runs all tournament long, with Belhaven scoring two and Lubbock getting one. The Lancers have allowed only four runs after starting the tournament with four-straight shutouts before Cal State-San Marcos got two in a bracket play game.
Imhof has allowed only one earned run and struck out 49 in 35.2 tournament innings, while Holden has allowed only one earned run and fanned 53 in 32.1 tournament innings.
The National Championship game will be broadcast live at www.watchnaia.com.
