BOX SCORES – GAME #1 | GAME #2
VANCOUVER, B.C. – Senior
Russ Johnston (Independence, Ore.) belted his team-leading fourth and fifth home runs of the season, but it was not enough offensive firepower as Corban's baseball team dropped a pair of games to British Columbia, 7-2 & 10-2, Saturday at Thunderbird Park.
After dropping two games less than twenty-four hours ago thanks to couple big innings by British Columbia, Corban returned to the diamond today looking for a split with the NAIA's No. 24-ranked Thunderbirds. Unfortunately, UBC scored a combined 17 runs in today's twin bill and never looked back en route to securing a four-game sweep of its visitors from Salem.
In today's opener, neither team got on the board until the bottom of the second inning when British Columbia put a trio of runs on the board via two hits. The highlights came off the bats of Scott Webster and Sammie Starr via a pair of RBI singles through the infield that handed the host T-birds an early three-run lead (3-0).
In the top of the third inning, Corban attempted to get back into the game when sophomore
Trevor Winsor (Troutdale, Ore.) led off the frame with a double to left field before advancing to third via a sacrifice bunt by fellow sophomore
Tony Salamone (Medford, Ore.). With one out, junior
Josh Warner (Independence, Ore.) drove in the visiting Warriors first run via a sacrifice fly to left field that brought Corban within two runs (3-1).
Following a 1-2-3 inning for the host Thunderbirds, senior
Craig Spicer (Vancouver, Wash.) reached via a lead off single to left field before being caught too far off the bag on sophomore
Taylor Stiles'
(Santa Maria, Calif.) line out to second. The very next batter – Johnston – brought the Warriors within a single run (3-2) thanks to his fourth home run of the season.
Down by a single run heading into the bottom of the fifth inning, Corban watched as British Columbia scored two runs on three hits to pull away from the Warriors by three runs (5-3). Both T-bird runs came on sacrifice flies, as Jon Syrnyk and Mitch Grossell both unleashed their run-scoring fly outs to center field that allowed UBC to extend its lead.
British Columbia closed out the game's scoring two innings later, as Ryan Pilgrim and Mike Elias registered an RBI each with singles through the left side that brought the final score to 7-2 in favor of the host Thunderbirds.
Offensively, Corban was hit to a mere three hits with Spicer, Johnston, and Winsor collecting the Warriors' only base knocks. Pitching-wise, freshman
Tyler Doornink (Yakima, Wash.) went the opening 6.2 innings allowing seven runs (six earned) on 11 hits before giving way to fellow freshman
Quinn Macnab (The Dalles, Ore.) for the final 1.1 innings.
British Columbia was led offensively by Webster's 3-for-4 performance, while Starr, Syrnyk, and Pilgrim each collected two hits for the T-birds. Dan Britton-Foster went the opening 6.0 innings on the mound for UBC allowing two runs (both earned) on three hits before allowing a pair of relievers – Ashton Florko and Josh Brink – to pitch the game's final three innings.
In the night cap, British Columbia struck for three runs in the bottom of the third inning off four hits. The Thunderbirds' highlights came via a pair of RBI singles to right field by Alex White and Grossell that handed UBC an early three-run advantage (3-0).
Corban got on the board in the top of the fifth inning when Johnston led off with his team-leading fifth home run of the season, which put him into a tie for fourth place among all NAIA West players and brought the visiting Warriors within two runs (3-1).
The host T-birds wasted no time in the bottom half of the fifth inning, as UBC scored three runs on three hits that included an RBI double by Elias and a two-run double to left field by Webster. British Columbia took a commanding five-run lead (6-1) into the game's final two innings.
In the Thunderbirds' next at-bat, UBC scored its final four runs of the afternoon off a Warrior error, a bases loaded walk, a wild pitch, and a ground out. British Columbia took a nine-run lead (10-1) without recording a hit in its final at-bat.
In the top of the seventh inning, Corban got a lead off triple to center field from freshman
Steven Blum (Salem, Ore.) before sophomore pinch hitter
Taylor Wyatt (Dallas, Ore.) brought home the Warriors' final run via a ground out to short to cap the scoring at 10-2 in UBC's favor.
Corban's bat-attack was led by Salamone's perfect 2-for-2 performance, while junior
Matt Schmidt (Corvallis, Ore.), Stiles, Johnston, Blum, and sophomore
Nate Hiebert (Lebanon, Ore.) rounded out the Warriors' plate performances with a hit each. On the mound, Winsor went the opening 5.0 innings allowing six runs (all earned) on eight hits before giving way to a pair of relievers – sophomore
Chris Trammell (Salem, Ore.) and freshman
Mike McKay (Almira, Wash.) – for the game's final inning of work.
British Columbia was led by Webster, who went 2-for-4 at the plate with a pair of RBI. Meanwhile, Elias aided in the UBC's run-scoring effort with a 1-for-3 showing that included a pair of RBI and a run scored. Pitching-wise, Eric Brown hurled the opening 6.0 innings for UBC allowing one earned run on six hits before turning the ball over to Shawn Hetherington for the game's final three outs.
With the losses, Corban falls to 6-13 overall (4-8 in NAIA West play) versus British Columbia's 16-3 win-loss record (10-1 in NAIA West action). The Warriors return to the field on Tuesday, March 17th, when they host NCAA Division III member Pacific University of Oregon beginning at 4:00 p.m. at Warrior Field.
