RIVERSIDE, Calif. - The Corban University baseball team began its nine-game California road swing with a doubleheader sweep of La Sierra University on Sunday. After a 4-2 win in game one, the Warrior bats exploded in game two en route to a 20-5 triumph.
In game one, junior left fielder Landon Frost (Bend, Ore.) directed Corban's offense with a 1-for-3 effort and 2 RBI. Senior second baseman Marc Gallegos (Astoria, Ore.) hit 2-for-3 with an RBI, while sophomore shortstop Ryan Rosas (Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.) batted 1-for-4 and notched an RBI as well.
Freshman hurler Dallas Broge (Huntington Beach, Calif.) registered his first-career victory in a Navy and Gold uniform, as he threw for 3.2 innings and tallied one strikeout while forcing four fly outs and four ground outs.
Junior left-handed pitcher Tony Davidson (Coeur d'Alene, Idaho) pitched two flawless innings for Corban, as he recorded four strikeouts and surrendered just one hit. In addition, junior right-handed hurler Adam Shumka (White Rock, B.C.) collected his fourth save of the 2015 campaign, going for 1.1 innings and compiling one strikeout.
After a couple scoreless innings by both teams, the Warriors got on the scoreboard in the top of the third, as Rosas tripled down the left field line to bring home senior center fielder Jordan Johansen (Maple Valley, Wash.). Moments later, Gallegos hit a sacrifice fly to left field to score Rosas and push Corban ahead, 2-0.
The Navy and Gold doubled its lead in the fourth inning, as Frost singled through the right side to score both junior right fielder Nic Coffman (Portland, Ore.) and senior first baseman Peter Martin (Toledo, Wash.).
La Sierra finally scored a run in the bottom of the fifth, as junior right fielder Michael Gonzalez smashed a solo home run to left field. An inning later, senior designated hitter Michael Zurita singled to left field, and following a Corban fielding error, junior catcher Matthew Valenzuela advanced home to cut the Warriors' advantage in half. But it wasn't enough, as the Navy and Gold held on for the 4-2 triumph.
In game two, Corban exploded for 12 runs in the first five innings en route to a 20-5 blowout victory over La Sierra.
Sophomore third baseman Vince Gonzalez (Kennewick, Wash.) led the Warriors with a 3-for-6 effort at the dish and a career-high four RBI. Corban shared the wealth on the offense end, as senior second baseman Stockton Taylor (Brewster, Wash.) batted 5-for-6 with three RBI, while Coffman and Frost both notched a hit and added two RBI apiece.
Junior right-handed pitcher Daniel Gober (Thousand Oaks, Calif.) picked up his second victory of the 2015 season, as he allowed only three hits and struck out seven batters in 6.2 innings on the mound. Coffman recorded three strikeouts in 1.2 innings, while junior hurler Hayden Calvert (Canberra, Australia) had one strikeout and allowed three runs in 0.2 innings pitched.
Corban did most of its damage in the top of the fourth, as the Warriors exploded for a nine-run inning. With a 5-0 lead and two runners in scoring position, Gonzalez doubled to left center to score both Frost and Rosas, and then Martin singled to center field to bring home Gonzalez and push the Navy and Gold ahead, 8-0. The Warriors went on to score two more runs in the inning, and the Golden Eagles committed three throwing errors in the frame to help Corban extend its lead.
In the top of the fifth, Gonzalez struck again, as he sent a ball out of the park for his first home run of the season to push the Warriors ahead, 12-0. Frost followed with a homer of his own in the seventh, as he registered his first-career home run to give Corban a 13-1 advantage.
Although La Sierra cut Corban's lead to single-digits (14-5) in the bottom of the eighth, the Warriors responded with six runs in the ninth, including a three-run triple by Coffman to put the Golden Eagles away.
"Two totally different types of games, but good contribution from a lot of different players," said head coach Jeff McKay. "Freshman Dallas Broge pitched well and earned his first college win. In game two, we broke out of a mini-offensive slump in a big way. The trip competition level increases greatly in the next four days. We will find out how good this team can be."
Corban (8-3) returns to action tomorrow when it travels to Irvine for a game against No. 18 Concordia University (Calif.). First pitch is set for 2 p.m. Be sure to watch the game online and follow it via live stats!
