KANSAS CITY, Mo. – For the first time in program history, Oregon Tech swept the weekly NAIA national softball awards as Kacie Schmidt was named NAIA National Pitcher of the Week, with Kaila Mick earning NAIA National Player of the Week honors – announced today by the national office.
The duo helped the Lady Owls complete a 4-game sweep of No. 8-ranked Southern Oregon, avenging a loss to the Raiders in the 2023 NAIA national championship game.
Schmidt, a junior from Beaverton, had a dominant weekend, going a combined 3-0 with a 0.57 ERA in 16 innings of work, walking just one batter and striking out 10. The right-hander allowed one earned run in a complete game 4-2 victory in the series opener, while tossing two shutout innings in the 6-5 Game 2 win. Schmidt closed out the series win with a 3-hit shutout on Saturday, blanking SOU, 3-0.
Mick, a grad student from Klamath Falls, had a record-setting performance – finishing the weekend 10-for-11 at the plate, with three doubles, a triple, a home run and four RBI. The shortstop became the first OIT player in recorded history to hit for the cycle, recording a homer, single, double and triple in the Game 2 win – scoring the winning run on a sacrifice fly. Mick improved her league-leading batting average to .565.
Two other OIT players have won NAIA Player of the Week honors – as Brittany Shlee earned the award in 2006 and Tara Moates earned the honor three times – once each in 2015, 2016 and 2017. Sarah Abramson is the only other Lady Owl to win the NAIA Pitcher of the Week award – earning the honor in back-to-back weeks during the 2022 season.
The Lady Owls return to action this weekend, traveling to Springfield for a 4-game series at Bushnell.