BOX SCORES – GAME #1 | GAME #2
WILSONVILLE, Ore. – Freshman
Steven Blum (Salem, Ore.) drove in a combined five RBI this afternoon that included his first career grand slam in the night cap, as Corban's baseball team swept conference rival Concordia, 3-0 & 5-3, Saturday afternoon at Wilsonville High School Sports Complex.
Blum went 1-for-4 with a run-scoring double in the opener before belting a first inning grand slam in the finale, while fellow freshman
Tyler Doornink (Yakima, Wash.) pitched a complete game shut out in Game #1 en route to picking up his second win of the season.
After a scoreless opening inning, Corban got a one-out double down the left field line from senior
Russ Johnston (Independence, Ore.) before sophomore
Kyle Taylor (Clackamas, Ore.) traded places via an identical hit that scored Johnston and handed the visiting Warriors an early one-run lead (1-0).
Six innings later, Corban put two more runs on the board thanks to three hits. With two outs, senior
Craig Spicer (Vancouver, Wash.) roped a single to left field before coming home on a run-scoring double to right center by Blum. Johnston then plated Blum with a single to center field that capped the game's scoring and handed the visiting Warriors a comfortable three-run lead (3-0) heading into the final three at-bats.
Over its final two at-bats, Concordia could not get a runner past first base en route to Corban collecting its third win of the weekend over the host Cavaliers.
Johnston led the Warriors' bat-attack with a 3-for-4 performance, while Spicer added a pair of hits. On the mound, Doornink allowed six Concordia hits en route to registering the second complete game and first shut out of his young collegiate career.
Concordia got base knocks from six different players, while Steven Taft pitched the opening 8.0 innings allowing three runs (all earned) on nine hits before turning the ball over to Dylan Smith for the game's final three outs.
In the night cap, Corban put four runs on the board in the opening inning via Blum's grand slam. After junior
Matt Schmidt (Corvallis, Ore.) reached on an error by the Cavaliers' first baseman, Spicer looked to have grounded into an inning-ending double play only to have Concordia's shortstop register an error that extended the inning. After a walk to Johnston that allowed everyone to advance an extra base, Blum stepped to the plate and gave the visiting team an early 4-0 lead via the Warriors' first four-bagger since John Hagensen cranked a first inning grand slam against Simpson on February 19, 2005.
After the game-changing hit, Concordia cracked the score board for the first time all afternoon thanks to a lead-off double by Kyle Schneider before Odie Hollingshed tripled down the right field line allowing Schneider to score. The very next batter – Jon Houts – brought Hollingshed home with a single to right field that pulled the host Cavaliers within two runs (4-2).
In the bottom of the fifth inning, Concordia cut the difference to a single run (4-3) via a sacrifice fly by Houts that scored Schneider following his lead off single to center field.
Clinging to a slim one-run lead, Corban struck for one more run in the top of the sixth inning when Johnston reached base on a pass ball following a strike out. One batter later, Taylor singled to right field allowing Johnston to score from third and handed the visiting Warriors a two-run lead (5-3).
Despite a combined four hits by the two teams during the next inning, neither team could either extend nor cut into the lead heading into the game's final at-bat.
In the bottom of the seventh inning, Concordia got its third lead off hit from Schneider via a double down the left field line. The very next batter – Hollingshed – ripped a hit back to the mound where Corban's pitcher snagged the ball and threw out Schneider at third for the first out. Following a single to left center by Houts, Concordia's J.J Berg was hit by a pitch to load the bases with two outs. Fortunately for the Warriors, the Cavaliers' Ben Lanier was induced into a game-ending ground out to second that allowed Corban to earn the afternoon sweep.
Five different Warriors – Warner, Schmidt, Spicer, Blum, and Taylor – registered hits, while sophomore
Trevor Winsor (Troutdale, Ore.) pitched the opening 5.0 innings allowing three runs (all earned) on 10 hits before turning the ball over to freshman
Quinn Macnab (The Dalles, Ore.) for the final 2.0 innings of work. Macnab pitched two scoreless innings en route to registering his first career save.
Concordia got a perfect 3-for-3 performance with two RBI from Houts, while Ben Rue went the distance on the mound for the host Cavaliers allowing five runs (two earned) on seven hits to go along with a game-high four strikeouts.
With today's victories, Corban improves to 9-14 overall, 7-9 in NAIA West play. Meanwhile, Concordia falls to 10-15 overall, 5-10 in NAIA West action. The Warriors return to action on Tuesday, March 24th, when they travel north to the Rose City to take on NCAA Division I member Portland beginning at 3:00 p.m. at Joe Etzel Field in the program's first regular season game against a D-I opponent since playing Dartmouth during the 1994 season.
