Klamath Falls, Ore. – The No. 4 seeded Saint Xavier University softball team (37-14/17-3 CCAC) forced the if-necessary game for the Klamath Falls Bracket Championship, winning the first game 3-0 over No. 1 Oregon Institute of Technology in the NAIA Opening Round Wednesday afternoon behind a one-hit shutout performance by junior pitcher Laila Summers (Joliet, Ill./Providence Catholic) who allowed a one-out walk and a single in the top of the 3^rd and would retire the next 14 batters in a row. The shutout was Summer's sixth of the season and it was the first time all season that the Owls had been shutout. Senior outfielder Sarah Bowen (Hampshire, Ill./Hampshire) gave SXU a 1-0 lead in the top of the 1^st with an RBI single, however a five-run 3^rd inning by OIT proved to be the difference in a 5-2 setback for Saint Xavier.

The victory in game one was the first win for the Cougars over the No. 1 team in the NAIA since SXU Hall-of-Fame class of 2023 inductee Nicole Nonnemacher (2013-16) tossed a one-hit, 1-0 shutout over No. 1 Oklahoma City University on May 30, 2016 in the NAIA Softball World Series.

Game One:

• Senior outfielder Nicole Lovato (Channahon, Ill./Minooka Community) was 2-for-2 with two walks, an RBI and a run scored.
• Junior infielder Alexus Reese (Schererville, Ind./Lake Central) finished 2-for-3 with a sacrifice fly.
• Bowen finished 1-for-3 with an RBI.
• Senior infielder Morgan Haefling (Gilberts, Ill./Hampshire) went 2-for-3, while sophomore catcher Lindsay Morgan (Huntley, Ill./Keiser/Huntley) also was 2-for-3 with a run.
• Bowen broke a scoreless tie in the bottom of the 5^th with a two-out RBI single to center field.
• A rally in the bottom of the 6^th provided Summers with some insurance as Lovato sliced an RBI single to the gap in left center and Reese followed with a sac fly.

Game Two:

• Bowen collected one hit in three at-bats.
• Sophomore infielder Abbie Carr (Indianapolis, Ind./Roncalli) went 1-for-4 with an RBI.
• Freshman infielder Kaitlyn Wright (Chicago, Ill./Marist) was 2-for-3 with a double.
• Senior outfielder Lyda Robinson (Seneca, Ill./Seneca) finished 2-for-4 with a run scored.
• Summers (23-9) started the second game of the championship and threw 2.0 innings allowing three hits and five runs (three earned).
• Junior pitcher Alyssa Frey (Sheboygan, Wis./Trinity International/Sheboygan South) worked the final 4.0 innings and gave up six hits and walked two batters.
• Bowen lined a two-out RBI single to center field to put SXU ahead 1-0 in the top of the 1^st.
• Oregon Tech tied the game in the bottom of the 3^rd on a fielder's choice with the bases loaded. An error allowed two runs to score, and Summers was lifted from the game. With Frey in the circle, the Owls tacked on two more runs off a sacrifice fly and an RBI single.
• Carr laced a two-out RBI single in the top of the 5^th that plated Robinson.
• Saint Xavier brought the tying run to the plate with two-out in the top of the 7^th, but OIT induced a groundout to end the game.

Saint Xavier (37-14/17-3 CCAC) caps the 2023 season by winning the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference (CCAC) Tournament for the third season in a row, qualifying for the NAIA Opening Round for the ninth time and playing in the opening round championship for the eight time and third consecutive year.