BOX SCORES – GAME #1 | GAME #2

SALEM, Ore. – Corban's baseball team was baffled by solid pitching Monday afternoon by the NAIA's No. 1-ranked Lewis-Clark State that included a 13-strikeout performance in Game #1 and a complete game shutout in the night cap en route to suffering a pair of losses, 6-2 & 8-0, at Warrior Field.

With today's twin bill results, Corban falls to 11-31 overall and Lewis-Clark State improves to 35-3 in 2010.

Junior Kyle Taylor (Clackamas, Ore.) would lead Corban's offense with a combined 3-for-5 performance that included one run scored, while senior Josh Warner (Independence, Ore.) turned in a game-high 3-for-4 showing in the opener.

Freshman Jacob Kopra (Gresham, Ore.) took the hill for the Warriors in Game #1 allowing three earned runs on six hits over 6.2 innings before giving way to a pair of Corban relievers. Fellow freshman Craig Baker (Meridian, Idaho) would toe the rubber for the opening six innings of Game #2 allowing six earned runs on 11 hits before turning the ball over to junior Nate Hiebert (Lebanon, Ore.) for the final nine outs.

GAME #1 – LEWIS-CLARK STATE 6, CORBAN 2

In what began as a pitcher's dual over the opening five innings, Lewis-Clark State would score three runs in the top of the sixth via a lead off solo home run by Josh Ashenbrenner over the right field wall before Pat Murray belted a two-run shot one batter later over the left field wall to give the visiting Warriors a 3-0 lead.

Corban would finally get on the board in the bottom of the seventh inning when Taylor led off with a single to right field before advancing to second on a wild pitch. Sophomore Steven Blum (Salem, Ore.) would reach base after being hit by a pitch before both runners advanced 90 feet on another LCSC wild pitch. Freshman Jake Balbas (Meridian, Idaho) stepped to the plate next and brought the Warriors' opening run home via a long sacrifice fly to center field that allowed Taylor to score from third. One  batter later, junior Steven Candelaria (Farmington, N.M.) pulled Corban within a single run (3-2) on a perfectly executed safety squeeze bunt that scored Blum.

Wasting no time in extending its lead, Lewis-Clark State tacked on three more runs in the top of the eighth on a RBI single by Brian Burke before Danny Anguiano brought home LCSC's fifth run with a single up the middle. Two batters later, Michael Bush was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded for Lewis-Clark State's sixth and final run of the opener that resulted in the concluding score of 6-2.

Warner would lead Corban's bat-attack with a 3-for-4 performance, while three other Warriors – sophomore Jonathan Ramirez (New Britain, Conn.), Taylor, and Blum – would each register two hits in Corban's 12-hit showing. After 6.2 innings of work for Corban, Kopra would hand the ball over to sophomore Quinn Macnab (The Dalles, Ore.) and junior Chris Trammell (Salem, Ore.) as the duo combined to get the final seven outs.

Lewis-Clark State was led offensively by three Warriors – Ashenbrenner, Burke, and Travis Georgius – that all registered two hits, while Tyler Knigge pitched 6.0 innings for LCSC allowing two earned runs on nine hits to go along with a game-high 13 strikeouts. Lewis-Clark State's Cody Fassold and Zach Clanton would combine to get the game's final nine outs, as Clanton picked up his second save of the season.

GAME #2 – LEWIS-CLARK STATE 8, CORBAN 0

In the finale, Lewis-Clark State would score the game's opening run in the top of the third inning when Bush roped a double down the left field line that allowed Jake Eccles to score following his lead off single to right center.

Clinging to a slim one-run lead, the visiting Warriors would score five runs over the next three innings on a combined eight hits with five different LCSC players knocking in runs. After the dust had settled, Lewis-Clark State had a six-run lead (6-0) through its opening six at-bats.

Corban would final get to Lewis-Clark State's starting pitcher Zach Hull with a hit by freshman Kris Bos (Jerome, Idaho) in the bottom of the fifth inning. The host Warriors would get two more in the bottom of the seventh, but neither of the Corban's base runners would score and everything remained the same until the top of the eighth inning.

In LCSC's half of the eighth inning, Ashenbrenner belted his second home run of the afternoon via a two-run blast over the right field wall that also brought home pinch runner Jason Hague for an eight-run Lewis-Clark State lead (8-0) that would turn out to be the final score.

Four Corban players – junior Tyler Lake (Medford, Ore.), junior Luke Balbas (Boise, Idaho), Taylor, and Bos – would register hits for the Warriors, while Baker and Hiebert combined to pitch the nine-inning contest against the nationally-ranked LCSC Warriors.

Lewis-Clark State was led at the plate by Ashenbrenner's 3-for-5 performance that included two runs scored and two runs batted in, while Hull went the distance allowing a mere four hits to go along with a game-high six strikeouts.

These same two teams will meet in the series finale tomorrow – April 20th – beginning at noon. The single nine-inning game is tentatively scheduled to be played at Roy Helser Field on the campus of Linfield College in McMinnville pending tonight's rain fall. If Warrior Field does not get hit as hard as expected and the Corban coaching staff feels that the field is playable then this season's home finale will take place on Corban's campus.

Be sure to stay tuned to GoWarriorsGo.com for further details, as an announcement should be made by 10 o'clock Tuesday morning.