LA GRANDE — The Eastern Oregon University softball program is on the brink of a historic season.

With just three weeks left in the regular season, the Mountaineers have tallied 30 wins and stand at third in the Cascade Collegiate Conference. Just one year removed from a 16-32 record, Eastern is eight wins away from securing the program record for wins in a season. Despite the success and accolades so far this year, the Mountaineers are taking things one game at a time in pursuit of competing with the conference’s best schools.

“The girls are buying in and realizing that we’re one of the top teams who can compete against top teams in the nation,” Mountaineers’ head coach Nicole Christian said. “It’s those little things that build up the program and the winning mentality.”

Christian is in just her third year as head coach, taking the reins of a team that went 13-32 in the previous season before her hiring in 2019. Not much changed in terms of winning percentage over the last two seasons, but the 2022 campaign has seen a major shift in the momentum of the program.

Eastern is 30-11 on the year and 16-5 in conference play, standing just three games back of first-place Oregon Tech. The Mountaineers have 12 games remaining on the schedule, four of which are against the Hustlin’ Owls. With the conference tournament and potential NAIA tournament appearance on the horizon, Eastern is within reach of the program’s all-time single-season win mark of 37 set in 2000.

“We’re putting ourselves in a great place to get to the CCC and possibly nationals, you never know how the rankings will play out,” Christian said. “We’re just playing it day-by-day in regards to the games we’ve got left and who we’re facing.”

A big part of the Mountaineers’ success has been its solid pitching staff, led by senior Amanda Smith.

Eastern’s ace is 13-4 on the year, a win total that is second highest in the Cascade Collegiate Conference. Smith is fifth in the conference with a 1.82 ERA, fourth in opposing batting average at .197, third in innings thrown with 119, second in strikeouts with 100 and third with three saves. The senior was arguably at her best all season on April 1 against Warner Pacific, throwing a five-inning no-hitter.

On top of Smith’s consistent outings in the pitcher’s circle, Abby Giles and McKenna Stallings have totaled seven wins each. Giles ranks second in the conference with a 1.54 ERA and fourth in opposing batting average at .206. According to Christian, Giles has been a crucial player this year in being able to step in and provide composed innings during a bases-loaded jam or a difficult pitching situation.

“She has been our workhorse,” Christian said. “Abby has just been that girl that goes in there with a stellar attitude and takes care of business. She’s been our savior numerous times this year.”

On the offensive side, Eastern has seen balanced plate production across its lineup. With no major standouts atop the conference individual stat rankings, the Mountaineers have entered games with the mentality that any player can step up when called upon.

“We’re spread out and at any given moment one of our athletes can do damage,” Christian said. “We love that with our program, we can look at our lineup and know that anyone can get it done.”

The Mountaineers earned two monumental victories in early April, defeating No. 5 College of Idaho in two consecutive games. The Mountaineers previously lost two home games to their rivals in late March, but bounced back to even the season series.

While Christian noted the team takes the season one game at a time, the victory over a conference powerhouse had a positive impact on the team’s morale and momentum.

“That series was huge,” she said. “It definitely was a good testament, they have a great program with good pitching. Being able to go on the road and execute what we wanted to do was a great momentum builder.”

Moving into the final segments of the regular season, Christian stated the remaining schedule will be ideal for getting the team’s players into the best form heading into the postseason. Eastern’s final three series are all on weekends, allowing for recovery and practice during the weekdays as opposed to travel and competitions.

The Mountaineers are set to travel to Bellevue, Washington, to face Northwest in a four-game series beginning on April 15. The Mountaineers will have a crucial four-game slate against top-ranked conference opponent Oregon Tech, before closing out the regular season with a four-game home series against Carroll.

“We’ve got our hands full these next three weeks, but we’re just taking it one game at a time,” Christian said. “We expect a battle every weekend in our conference.”