SALEM, Ore. – The Corban University baseball team either held a lead or a tie late in both games on Sunday vs. No. 19 Lewis-Clark State College, but the Navy and Gold fell short in both contests, losing game one, 4-3, and game two in 10 innings, 10-7. With the win, L-C State swept the season series against Corban, winning all seven games.
Playing on Sunday due to wet field conditions on Saturday, Corban almost took the lead in the opener in the second frame when freshman catcher Austin Zavala (Medford, Ore.) laced a single to left field, and sophomore Benjamin Liogon (Culiacaa, Sinaloa, Mexico) rounded third and headed home, but just as on Friday, Lewis-Clark State left-fielder Zach Holley gunned down a Warrior runner at home plate, with Liogon out on the play. In that second inning, Corban tallied three hits.
Lewis-Clark State got on the board in the third frame, scoring a trio of runs with two outs to nab the early lead. Corban got another runner on in scoring position in the bottom half of the frame, but the Warriors were unable to take advantage.
In the fourth inning, the Navy and Gold got a runner in scoring position for the third-consecutive inning when Liogon ripped an RBI double down the third-base line. Unfortunately, Corban was once again unable to take advantage.
Senior center-fielder Marc Gallegos (Astoria, Ore.) finally put Corban on the board in the fifth frame, lacing an RBI single to score sophomore shortstop Ryan Rosas (Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.) on the play. Senior first baseman Daniel Orr (Kingston, Wash.) stepped up to the plate next for the Navy and Gold, and he launched a two-run shot over the right-field fence, tying the contest at 3-3.
Lewis-Clark State retook the lead via a sacrifice fly from Raymond Pedrina in the eighth frame. The run that was scored was unearned via a prior error in the inning.
That run would prove to be the difference, resulting in the one-run defeat for Corban.
Beau Kearns earned his eighth win of the year for L-C State, while senior pitcher Jordan Johansen (Black Diamond, Ore.) picked up the loss for Corban, giving up just the one unearned run.
At the dish for Corban, sophomore third baseman Vince Gonzalez (Kennewick, Wash.) and Rosas both registered a pair of hits. For Lewis-Clark State, Cabe Reiten, Darren Kolk, and Raymond Pedrina each recorded two hits for the road squad.
In game two, Lewis-Clark State jumped on top via a pair of runs in the first frame.
Liogon registered another good game for Corban in game two, getting the Navy and Gold on the board with an RBI groundout in the bottom of the second.
L-C State added a third run in the fourth frame, scoring with two outs.
Liogon continued to stay hot at the dish, lacing an RBI double in the fourth inning, scoring Orr from third. A batter later, Gonzalez ripped an RBI single up the middle, scoring senior left-fielder Peter Martin (Toledo, Wash.) on the play to tie the ballgame. Sophomore catcher Jackson Smith (Salem, Ore.) followed that up with an RBI double to right field, scoring Liogon from third base. The Warriors had runners on second and third base with one out in that fourth frame, but were unable to bring either home. Those baserunners left on base would come back to haunt Corban later in the day.
Corban threatened again in the sixth inning, and Vince Gonzalez notched an RBI bloop-single into center field, putting Corban up 5-3. Later in the frame with runners on second and third base, Gallegos came up clutch for the Navy and Gold, making contact and hitting a blooper down the right-field line to put Corban in front, 7-3.
Lewis-Clark State responded in the seventh inning, scoring one run, but sophomore pitcher Daniel Aranda (Lebanon, Ore.) came on in relief and got Corban out of a bases-loaded jam, keeping the Navy and Gold in front by three runs, 7-4.
L-C State made it a one-run ballgame in the eighth inning when Seth Brown hit a two-run homerun down the right-field line. Later in the inning, the road side tied the game up at 7-7 via a Corban error with two outs.
Neither team scored in the ninth, resulting in an extra-inning ballgame. In the 10th frame, Lewis-Clark State scored the run it needed, nabbing the 8-7 lead. Later in the inning for good measure, L-C State tacked on two more runs to take a three-run lead.
Down to its final at-bat, Corban loaded the bases in the bottom of the 10th frame, but the Navy and Gold was unable to get the clutch hit it was looking for, resulting in the three-run defeat.
With the loss, Corban dropped to 1-2 in extra-inning games on the season.
Junior pitcher Daniel Gober (Thousand Oaks, Calif.) finished the game going 6.2 innings for Corban on the mound, scattering nine hits while allowing four runs and striking out four.
At the plate for the Navy and Gold in game two, Orr and Liogon both registered three-hit performances, while Gonzalez, Martin, and Gallegos all totaled two hits apiece.
"The second game was maybe the toughest loss for the Warriors in my time as head coach," said head Coach Jeff McKay. "We just could not finish it on the mound. We gave them a couple of chances and they capitalized on them like a good team does, and they certainly are that, so give them credit. We competed in a lot of ways better than at any time this season in this series. These two are going to hurt for a while, but we will learn and grow from it."
Corban (21-23, 9-11 NAIA-West) returns to the diamond on Wednesday when it hosts Pacific University. First pitch is set for 4 p.m. at Warrior Field.
