FOREST GROVE, Ore. – The Corban University softball team split its twinbill against Pacific University on Tuesday afternoon, as the Warriors claimed game two, 9-4, after slipping to the Boxers in game one, 8-5. The doubleheader marked Corban's final non-conference games of the 2015 regular season.
Pacific 8, No. 25 Corban 5 - Game One
In the first game of the doubleheader, Corban mustered only five hits compared to 14 by Pacific en route to the 8-5 defeat.
Senior third baseman Kyrianna Sorensen (Salem, Ore.) led the way for the Navy and Gold with a 1-for-4, two RBI effort, while both sophomore second baseman Anne Binschus (Gig Harbor, Wash.) and senior right-fielder RaeAnna Dorcas (Everett, Wash.) went 1-for-3 with one RBI.
In the circle, junior pitcher Danielle Horne (Vacaville, Calif.) suffered her first loss of the 2014 campaign, as she yielded six earned runs and collected two strikeouts in five innings. Freshman hurler Sabrina Boyd (Pleasant Hill, Ore.) saw one inning of action and tallied a pair of strikeouts for the Navy and Gold.
After two hitless innings to start the contest, Corban got down to business in the top of the third frame, as the Warriors registered a four-run inning to erase a two-run deficit. With the bases loaded, sophomore left-fielder Taylor Eilders (Cameron Park, Calif.) scored on a passed ball, and then Sorensen belted a two-run double to left center to give Corban a 3-2 lead. With two outs, Dorcas ripped an RBI single to left field to drive home Sorensen and cap the Warriors' four-run inning.
Although the Boxers added a run in the bottom of the third, Corban answered right back, as Binschus smacked an RBI single with the bases loaded to put the Navy and Gold back on top by two runs (5-3). However, that's when Corban's bats fell flat, as the Warriors failed to tally any more hits in the game.
Meanwhile, Pacific's batters heated up, as the Boxers exploded for five runs and six hits in the fourth and fifth innings to put Corban away and pull off the 8-5 upset.
No. 25 Corban 9, Pacific 4 - Game Two
The Navy and Gold turned the tables on the Boxers in game two of the twinbill, as Corban recorded 12 hits and scored four early runs to take a 9-4 victory over Pacific.
Sorensen continued to deliver at the dish, as she batted 3-for-4 with three RBI, including a two-run homer in the opening frame. Sophomore left-fielder Kylie Durre (Bend, Ore.) went 2-for-4 with three runs, while junior designed hitter Jamie Costa (Tracy, Calif.) swung for one hit and two RBI for the Navy and Gold.
Boyd picked up right where she left off in game one, as she collected seven strikeouts for her third victory of the 2015 campaign.
Corban piled on four runs right off the bat, as junior catcher Danielle Ackerman (Dallas, Ore.) smacked an RBI double to score sophomore center-fielder Annie Owen (Corvallis, Ore.) who reached on a double as well. After Sorensen's two-run bomb, Costa singled down the right-field line to drive home Durre and cap the Warriors' four-run start to the ball game.
After Boyd held the Boxers to just two hits in the first two frames, Corban took a 5-0 lead in the third after Dorcas ripped an RBI single. Although Pacific answered with two runs in the bottom of the third, freshman first baseman Jaslyn Rush (Stockton, Calif.) popped a sacrifice fly to center field to score Durre and give Corban a 6-2 advantage in the top of the fifth frame.
Pacific (15-9, 7-5 NWC) refused to go down without a fight, as the Boxers drove home two more runs in the bottom of the fifth to pull within two (6-4). After a hitless sixth inning, the Warriors found their groove in the seventh, as Sorensen started the frame with a leadoff single. With two runners in scoring position, Durre belted an RBI single, and then Eilders scored on a Pacific throwing error to put Corban on top by four (8-4). To round out the Navy and Gold's scoring in the ball game, Costa hit an RBI groundout to give the Warriors a 9-4 advantage.
After a leadoff single in the bottom of the seventh, Corban turned a Boxer lineout into a double play, as junior shortstop Kali Van Cleave (Portland, Ore.) fired over to Rush for the critical second out of the inning. With one on, Boyd forced a fly out to retire the side and dial in a 9-4 victory for Corban.
"It was good to be able to get on the field between storms this week and work on a few things before a big weekend in conference play coming up," said head coach Nathan Ohta. "Pacific is a solid ball club and it was good to see the girls respond to a game-one loss with a big first inning to take control of game two and get the win. It was a good win, and one that will make us better for the stretch run in conference play."
The Warriors (24-7, 7-2 CCC) return to the field on Friday for a critical Cascade Collegiate Conference (CCC) doubleheader against No. 17 Concordia University in Portland, Ore. First pitch is set for 2 p.m.
