BOX SCORE

PORTLAND, Ore. – Corban's No. 11-ranked softball team relied on the long ball with four home runs, as the Warriors ended CCC rival Concordia's season with a 6-1 win in Game #5 of the Concordia (Ore.) Bracket of the NAIA Opening Rounds Tuesday at Delta Park.

Corban (42-14) was led offensively by junior Courtney Castronovo with a 2-for-3 performance that included a pair of home runs and three runs batted in, while senior Stephanie Nippert hit career home run No. 81 and junior Lounette Jackson belted her sixth home run of the season.

Senior Amy Greenough went the distance for Corban allowing one earned run on 10 hits with a game-high two strikeouts en route to earning her 15th win of the season.

Despite having its season come to an end, Concordia (35-23) was led offensively by three players – Taylor Copher, Kyndell Andrews, and Mary Lugar – with two hits each to go along with a single RBI by Laura Luther.

Ashley Suter got the start for Concordia in the circle and suffered her 10th loss of the year after allowing six earned runs on 11 hits with one K over 5.2 innings before Danielle Orvella came in to get the final out.

Corban would get the scoring started early, as Nippert belted her 28th home run of the season to open the bottom of the first inning before sophomore pinch runner Shelby Mauermann and senior Brittany Chestnut executed a perfect double steal to put the Warriors ahead by two runs (2-0).

In the top of the third inning, Concordia would cut its deficit in half (2-1) thanks to a RBI single to center field by Luther that scored Tobey Varney following her leadoff single up the middle.

The designated home Warriors would add to their lead in the bottom of the third inning when Jackson belted a two-out solo home run over the left field fence giving Corban a three-run cushion (3-0).

In the bottom of the fifth inning, Corban would add its fourth run of the game to the scoreboard thanks to Castronovo's 13th home run of the season via a leadoff solo home run over the left center field fence to increase the Warriors' lead to three runs (4-1).

One inning later, Castronovo would blast her second home run of the game over the right field fence after Nippert was intentionally walked for the third time in the contest. Castronovo's 14th long ball of the season was a two-run blast that extended Corban's lead to a game-ending five-run difference (6-1).

Corban moves to the championship game of the Concordia (Ore.) Bracket to face top-seeded and No. 10-ranked Saint Xavier beginning at 11:00 a.m. tomorrow – Wednesday, May 15th – at Delta Park in Portland.

NOTE: Corban will need to win two games on Wednesday in order to advance to the national championships final site in Columbus, Georgia.