BOX SCORE McMINNVILLE – Corban bats raked Linfield pitching for 15 hits and Jacob Kopra nailed down a scary save in the ninth inning as the visiting Warriors knocked of the NCAA Division III No. 1-ranked Wildcats, 6-5, in a non-conference baseball game played Friday night at Roy Helser Field.

With the win, the Warriors improve their season record to 3-5, while at the same time handing Division III defending national champion Linfield its second loss in seven games.

The Warriors broke a 4-4 tie with a pair of runs in the top of the eighth inning, and then held on as the Wildcats scored once and left the tying run on third base in the bottom of the ninth. Kopra, the team ace who entered the game with two outs in the bottom of the eighth, handled a one-hopper off the bat of Jo Carroll for the final out to record his first save of the season.

Linfield opened the scoring with a pair of runs in the first, but Corban replied with single tallies in the second and third innings. Tyler Bennett led off the second with a single, advanced a base on a sacrifice bunt by Davis Alderman, and then scored on a double to right-center field by Stockton Taylor. An inning later, Marc Gallegos hit a solo homer over the 355 sign in left-center field to tie the score.

The host Wildcats opened up a 4-2 lead in the bottom of the third, only to see Corban tie it with a two-out, two-run rally in the fifth inning. The rally started with an error on a grounder by Gallegos, and he came home when Daniel Orr's hit a double to left-center. Orr came in on Bennett's double to center.

Corban scored the decisive runs in the top of the eighth on four hits. With one out, Alderman and Taylor collected consecutive singles, and pinch hitter Benjamin Liogon followed with a single to load the bases. Ben Straka, another pinch hitter, drove in Alderman with a sacrifice fly to left field, and Taylor crossed the plate with the final run on a wild pitch.

The hosts put together a ninth inning rally, getting runners on second and third via a hit batter, a single and a passed ball. A ground out scored one run and moved the tying run to third base with just one out, but Kopra struck out pinch hitter Kameron Bates before snagging Carroll's comebacker to end it.

Stockton had a big game for the Warriors, going 4-for-4 with a run scored and one driven in. Orr, Bennett and Alderman all had a pair of hits, with both of Orr's being doubles.

Middle inning relief pitching was big for Corban as Jordan Johansen and Tony Davidson combined for 4 2/3 innings of no-run, two-hit relief. Davidson was the winning pitcher and is 1-0 this season.

"Big win for the Warriors against a very good team and the defending national champions," Corban head coach Jeff McKay said. "We have been swinging the bats well this year but came through with some extra base hits when needed. This team is beginning to learn how to compete for 27 outs and how to win. The win was much needed after a tough trip to Southern California. This team has the potential to compete for the top spot in the conference."

The Warriors are back in action tomorrow with games at 11 a.m. against Willamette and at 2 p.m. against Puget Sound, both at Concordia University in Portland.