PORTLAND, Ore. – The Corban University baseball bats never got going on Sunday, ultimately resulting in a 4-1 loss in the final game of the Concordia Tournament to Pacific Lutheran University. After three wins to open the four-game clash with Northwest Conference schools, this game marks the only loss of the tournament for the Navy and Gold.
Both team's pitchers were dealing early on, as there was no score through three innings. Freshman pitcher Caleb Henry (Salem, Ore.) was on the mound for the Warriors during that stretch, shutting down the Lutes' offense completely.
Corban couldn't get much going offensively either though, as the Warrior bats never could find a hole against Kort Skoda. Skoda finished the contest pitching 7.1 innings while allowing just four hits and one run.
The Lutes struck first and got to Henry in the fourth frame, scoring a trio of runs to nab the advantage. The Warriors responded in the bottom of the fifth with a run of their own, however, when sophomore shortstop Ryan Rosas (Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.) hit a sacrifice fly to left field, scoring senior left-fielder Landon Frost (Bend, Ore.) on the play.
Within two runs, Corban tried to inch closer, but the Lutes added on an insurance run in the top of the ninth, and the Warriors could not muster up any hits in the bottom half of the frame, resulting in the three-run defeat.
"We had a well-pitched game against us today," said head coach Jeff McKay. "We were not able to make adjustments as needed. We had another good game defensively, and Ryan Wood was good out of the bullpen. We get another shot at them tomorrow. We will be ready."
On top of Frost and Rosas tallying hits, senior second baseman Marc Gallegos (Astoria, Ore.) and sophomore third baseman Vince Gonzalez (Kennewick, Wash.) also registered hits on the day for the Warriors. Gonzalez's hit was a double, while Frost got on base via a triple.
Henry finished with the loss for Corban, throwing four innings while allowing five hits and three runs. Junior pitcher Ryan Wood (Meridian, Idaho) came on in relief for the Navy and Gold, hurling the final five innings while scattering four hits and surrendering just one run while striking out three.
Corban (6-2) takes to the diamond again tomorrow and gets its shot at revenge right away when it hosts PLU (5-2) at Wilsonville HS. First pitch is set for 12 p.m. Be sure to follow the game via live stats.
