ATHERTON, Calif. - For the fourth time during this 2015 campaign, the Corban University baseball team dropped the first game of the day before responding to take game two, resulting in an NAIA-West series split with Menlo College. All four days have almost been carbon copies of one another, as the Warriors lost a tight contest in the opener, 5-3, while winning the nightcap on Saturday, 7-4.

During the 2015 campaign, the Navy and Gold have played on four separate days in NAIA-West contests, and each of those days have gone the same, with the Warriors winning game two each and every time. Corban is now 15-15 on the year and 4-4 in NAIA-West play.

"Our team seems to be in the Groundhog movie at times," said head coach Jeff McKay. "It seems like the same day over and over again. We lose a close first game and then come back well in game two. Four-game splits are never what we play for, but you stay in the conference race doing it on the road against contending teams. Daniel Gober gave us a quality start in game two to set up our best bullpen effort of the year by Ryan Wood and Jordan Johansen."

In that game-one defeat, Corban went in front early when senior first baseman Daniel Orr (Kingston, Wash.) singled to center field, scoring sophomore shortstop Ryan Rosas (Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.) on the play. Later in the opening frame, the Warriors looked to be on a roll as senior left-fielder Peter Martin (Toledo, Wash.) doubled to right-center, scoring junior designated hitter Nic Coffman (Portland, Ore.).

After the first, Corban led 3-0, but those would be the only three runs the Warriors would score in game one.

Senior pitcher Austin Guzzon (Oceanside, Calif.) threw a solid game for the Navy and Gold on the hill, dispersing six hits over 6.1 innings while allowing three runs, only two of which were earned. During that span, he struck out eight batters.

With the game tied in the bottom of the eighth, Menlo launched a two-run homerun over the left-field wall, giving itself a two-run cushion heading into the ninth.

Corban ended up putting a two-out rally together in its final chance at the dish, but with the bases loaded, the Warriors were unable to come up clutch, scoring no runs in the final frame en route to the two-run defeat.

In game two, the Navy and Gold once again started the game strong, scoring four runs through the first three frames. Orr tallied an RBI double in the first, while junior right-fielder Hayden Calvert (Canberra, Australia) launched a solo homerun in the second.

Orr and Martin then registered RBI base-knocks in the third inning, giving the Warriors a commanding four-run lead.

Once again, however, Menlo responded and tied the game up after seven innings at 4-4.

This time though, Corban did come up clutch at the plate late, as in the eighth, the Warriors scored a pair of runs by taking advantage of an Oak miscue and a Rosas sacrifice fly, while in the ninth, sophomore third baseman Vince Gonzalez (Kennewick, Wash.) gave the Warriors a bit of breathing room with an RBI single.

In Menlo's final at-bat, senior pitcher Jordan Johansen (Maple Valley, Wash.) shut down the Oaks' bats, earning his first save of the 2015 season in only his second appearance on the mound.

Earning the win in relief was junior pitcher Ryan Wood (Meridian, Idaho), while the starter in the fourth and final game of the series with Menlo was junior Daniel Gober (Thousand Oaks, Calif.). Gober gave Corban six solid innings of work, allowing just three runs on seven hits while striking out three.

"Hayden Calvert is beginning to catch stride offensively after somewhat of a slow start," said McKay. "Our defense continues to be consistent. We need to regroup physically, and spring break will help in that. We have played better these first two conference road series than we have all year. Six of our next eight conference games are at Warrior Field. This team is ready to make a run at the top. We will need to get healthy."

Corban (15-15, 4-4) takes a break from NAIA-West action on Tuesday when it travels across town to Willamette University for a game with the Bearcats. First pitch is set for 3 p.m.