BOX SCORES – GAME #1 | GAME #2

STAYTON, Ore. – Corban's baseball team collected a combined 22 hits Tuesday against NCAA Division III member Lewis & Clark, as the Warriors swept the visiting Pioneers, 9-5 & 5-4, at Joe Brock Park on the campus of Stayton High School.

Senior Nate Hiebert (Lebanon, Ore.) led Corban's bat-attack with a combined 5-for-7 performance that included four runs scored, while five other Warriors – senior Kyle Taylor (Clackamas, Ore.), senior Aarason Perry (Susanville, Calif.), junior Steven Blum (Salem, Ore.), junior Jared Fritz (Ridgefield, Wash.), and freshman Lance Foster (Snohomish, Wash.) – collected at least two hits each and combined to drive in eight runs.

On the mound, junior Nick Stiltner (Eugene, Ore.) pitched 2.2 innings of relief in the opener en route to earning his first win of the season. In the finale, Hiebert and fellow senior Trevor Winsor (Troutdale, Ore.) saw action on the hill with Winsor picking up the win in relief after pitching 3.0 innings.

GAME #1 – CORBAN 9, LEWIS & CLARK 5

In the opener, Corban got on the board first in the bottom of the second inning when Blum led off with a single through the left side before advancing to second on a sacrifice bunt by junior Jonathan Ramirez (New Britain, Conn.). The very next batter – Perry – stepped to the plate and registered his first hit in a Warrior uniform via an infield single that put runners at first and third with one out. Having gone seven innings without scoring, Winsor drove in Corban's first run via a fielder's choice RBI that brought Blum home for an early 1-0 lead.

Lewis & Clark would tie the score at 1-1 in the top of the third when Michael Ball brought home Guiseppe Baffaro via a sacrifice fly to center field after Baffaro reached on catcher's interference to lead off the inning.

One inning later, Corban would retake the lead (3-1) thanks to a two-run single to center field by Perry that scored Blum and Foster.

Wasting no time, Lewis & Clark tied the game for the second time in the top of the fifth inning when Eliot Smith roped a two-run single to left center that knotted the game at 3-all.

In the bottom of the fifth inning, Corban took the lead for good when sophomore pinch-runner Andy Hill (Eugene, Ore.) and Taylor executed a perfect double steal attempt with Taylor drawing a throw that allowed Hill to steal home and put the Warriors up by a single run (4-3). Foster would then bring Taylor home via a RBI double to right center before Ramirez brought home another two runs one batter later with a double to right field that increased Corban's lead to four runs (7-3).

Lewis & Clark would get one run back in the top of the sixth when Baffaro ripped a run-scoring single down the right field line that brought the visiting Pioneers within three runs (7-4).

Corban would increase its lead to five runs (9-4) in the bottom of the sixth inning when Hiebert doubled down the left field line before Taylor roped a run-scoring single to center field to cap the Warriors' scoring.

In its last at-bat, Lewis & Clark put its fifth and final run on the board when Sam Holand ground out with the bases loaded allowing Ball to score the Pioneers' last run for the final deficit of 9-5.

Blum lead Corban's offense with a perfect 3-for-3 performance, while Hiebert, Foster, and Perry each registered two hits. On the mound, freshman Justin White (Pleasant Hill, Ore.) went the opening 3.0 innings allowing one unearned run on two hits before senior Chris Trammell (Salem, Ore.) took the ball for the next 1.1 innings. The senior right-hander would allow two earned runs on two hits before Stiltner came in for the final 2.2 innings of work.

Lewis & Clark was led by Smith with a 3-for-4 performance that included a pair of RBI, while Alex St. Pierre went the opening 4.0 innings allowing three earned runs on five hits before Nick Lavin pitched the final two innings for the Pioneers allowing six earned runs on six hits.

GAME #2 – CORBAN 5, LEWIS & CLARK 4 (8 INNINGS)

In the finale, the opening two innings would be a pitcher's dual between Hiebert and the Pioneers' Hardeep Gujral.

The bottom of the third inning would produce the game's first runs, as Hiebert registered a two-out single through the left side before Taylor belted his first home run of the season over the left field wall for an early 2-0 Corban lead.

Corban would add a single run in the bottom the fourth inning on a Fritz's RBI single to left field before Blum registered a run-scoring single up the middle one inning later that increased the Warriors' lead to four runs (4-0).

The top of the sixth inning would see Lewis & Clark load the bases with three straight singles before Corban's first-year head coach Jeff McKay made a pitching change bringing in Winsor. Smith deposited the first pitch that he saw from Winsor over the right field wall for a grand slam that tied the score at 4-4.

Neither team would score again until the bottom of the eighth inning when Hiebert singled to the pitcher before advancing to second on a throwing error. After a second straight intentional walk to Taylor, Ramirez would send a bouncing ball to short where Lewis & Clark attempted to turn an inning-ending double play only to have the throw to first bounce and get away allowing Hiebert to score the game-winning run from third for the Warriors' 5-4 win.

Hiebert would lead Corban's offense with a perfect 3-for-3 performance that included three runs scored, while sophomore Kris Bos (Jerome, Idaho) and Fritz each collected two hits. Pitching-wise, Hiebert would go the opening 5.0 innings allowing three earned runs on five hits before turning the ball over to Winsor for the final nine outs and the victory.

Lewis & Clark was led by Smith's 2-for-4 performance that included four runs batted in, while Gujral pitched the opening 5.0 innings for the Pioneers allowing four earned runs on seven hits before turning the ball over to Ball for the final 2.2 innings and the heart-breaking loss.

With today's sweep, Corban improves to 4-17 overall and Lewis & Clark falls to 3-16 on the season. The Warriors will return to action on Friday, March 25th, against the Cavaliers of Concordia beginning at 12:00 p.m. on Warrior Field in Salem.