BOX SCORES
CORBAN V. CAL. BAPTIST | CORBAN. V. PT. LOMA NAZ. | CORBAN V. BIOLA

REDDING, Calif. – On the second and final day of the All-American Softball, Inc. Simpson Invitational Saturday at Big League Dreams Park, Corban's softball team ran into a pair of nationally-ranked teams as well as another powerhouse from the Golden State Athletic Conference.

Despite dropping games against the NAIA's No. 1-ranked California Baptist, the NAIA's No. 3-ranked Point Loma Nazarane, and GSAC member Biola, the Warriors showed promise throughout that included holding the defending national champion California Baptist to its second lowest margin of victory this season.

Junior Jessie Jones (Gladstone, Ore.) led the Warriors' bat-attack with a combined 4-for-11 performance that included three singles and a double. Four other Corban players – freshman Nicole Sikes (San Diego, Calif.), senior Rebecca Franke (Pendleton, Ore.), freshman Liane DeHart (Kent, Wash.), and freshman Stephanie Nippert (Rocklin, Calif.) – recorded two hits each.

In the circle, junior Makenzie Marchbanks (Sweet Home, Ore.) suffered a pair of losses pitching a combined 12.0 innings allowing 11 runs (10 earned) on 17 hits to go along with five strikeouts. Sophomore Brittany Wagner (Oregon City, Ore.) pitched the weekend's finale for Corban, as the second-year Warrior went the distance allowing three earned runs on seven hits with five K's.

CALFORNIA BAPTIST 4, CORBAN 0

Saturday's opener for Corban was against the NAIA's No. 1-ranked and defending national champion California Baptist. Despite registering a mere three singles in the game, the Warriors held California Baptist to its second lowest run total of the season with all four of the Lancers' runs coming in the opening inning.

California Baptist began its day scoring all four runs on RBI doubles before a pair of Lancers pitchers – Tory Ferrari and Melanie Ahumada – shut down Corban's bats for its eighth straight win to open the 2010 season.

Marchbanks went the distance for Corban allowing four runs (three earned) on eight hits to go along with a pair of strikeouts.

POINT LOMA NAZARENE 7, CORBAN 3

In its second game of the day, Corban got a 3-for-4 performance from Jones and had a three-run lead against the NAIA's No. 3-ranked Point Loma Nazarene before allowing seven unanswered runs.

The Warriors' three-run first inning began with a Jones double to center field before Franke brought her home with a sacrifice fly to center for the early one-run lead. The very next batter – freshman Erica Fitzgerald (Beaverton, Ore.) – wasted no time in putting two more runs on the board with her second home run of the season to left field allowing Franke to cross the plate.

Unfortunately for the Warriors, Point Loma Nazarene's pitching duo of Kira Wommer and Tyler Lent would shut down Corban over the final six innings as the Sea Lions tied the game in the bottom of the first inning before platting four runs in the fifth inning for the final margin of 7-3.

Marchbanks would once again stand inside Corban's pitching circle for the entire game allowing seven earned runs on nine hits to go along with three strikeouts.

BIOLA 3, CORBAN 2

The weekend's finale would be the closest game so far this season for Corban, as the Warriors nearly pulled off a come-from-behind win before falling to Biola in the Eagles' final at-bat.

Biola scored the game's first two runs in the bottom of the third thanks to a Lyndsie Roberts' double that scored Brittany Bury and Lauren Gandy.

After five scoreless at-bats, Corban's bats exploded in the top of the sixth inning when Sikes registered a one-out infield single before Wagner roped a triple to right field that put the Warriors on the board. The very next batter – senior Jessica Pierce (Kennewick, Wash.) – tied the game at 2-2 with a run-scoring single to center field that platted Wagner.

Not wanting to leave Northern California was another loss, Biola got a game-winning double from Leslie Larson in the bottom of the sixth inning that scored Erin DaSilva for the final run of the game.

Corban attempted to come back in its final at-bat, but a two-out single to right field by Sikes was not enough as Roberts got all three outs via ground outs back to the pitcher for the 3-2 Eagle win.

Wagner went the distance for Corban in the circle allowing three earned runs on seven hits to go along with a game-high five strikeouts.

Corban concluded the weekend with a 2-4 record, as the Warriors are now 4-4 on the season. Wasting no time this week, Corban will step back onto the diamond for one game on Thursday, February 18th, against NCAA Division II member Western Oregon beginning at 3:00 p.m. in Monmouth.