Wilsonville, Ore. – The Corban University Baseball team fought hard again, but a big inning early in each game ultimately came back to bite, as the Warriors dropped both ends of a doubleheader to Central Washington University (CWU) on Sunday afternoon. With a 2-2 record on the weekend, both teams earned a series split.
"What a great four game series against a good team," said head coach Jeff McKay. "We really battled well today offensively, but our pitching was not as sharp."
Game 1: CWU 4, Corban 1
The Warriors fell behind early in the first contest of the day and struggled to figure out CWU starter Jake Levin, compiling only five hits on the day.
Sophomore Rilyn Lewchuk (Oregon City, Ore.) started on the mound for Corban, allowing four runs (three earned) on five hits in four innings. The big blow came in the third inning, when CWU first baseman Austin Adams drilled a three-run double to put the Wildcats on top. CWU notched an unearned run in the fourth frame.
The Warriors lone run came on a Landon Frost (Bend, Ore.) sacrifice fly in the sixth inning.
Tyler Reitz (Billings, Mont.) had two hits for Corban.
Lewchuk suffered the loss for the Warriors, while Levin earned the win for the Wildcats. Thomas Kerr (Olympia, Wash.), Jalen Garcia (Billings, Mont.), and Adam Shumka (White Rock, B.C.) combined to throw five shutout innings in relief for Corban.
Game 2: CWU 6, Corban 4
The finale of the four-game series started off well for the Warriors. After the first two hitters were retired, Corban utilized three straight hits – capped off by a two-run triple by Garcia – to stake itself to an early advantage. The Warriors added another run in the second inning courtesy of a Wildcat error to push the lead to 3-0.
Unfortunately, the big inning knocked Corban down again, as CWU plated four runs in the top of the third frame to take the lead. The Wildcats added two more in the fourth inning to give themselves a 6-3 advantage.
Senior Hayden Calvert (Canberra, Australia) smashed the first pitch he saw to lead off the fifth frame, launching a line-drive homerun to pull the Warriors within two. That was as close as they would get, however, as they left a runner stranded in each of the last three innings en route to the two run loss.
Senior Daniel Gober (Thousand Oaks, Calif.) took the loss for Corban, while Connor Lau earned the win in relief. Daniel Aranda (Lebanon, Ore.), Zach Toney (Meridian, Idaho), Jarett Thoren (Nampa, Idaho), and Austin Holmes (Mount Lake Terrace, Wash.) combined to throw five shutout innings in relief for the Warriors.
Junior Alex Storaci (Kennewick, Wash.) had three hits on the day to lead Corban, and Garcia batted in two runs. Calvert and Daniel Freiburger (Rupert, Idaho) also notched a hit and an RBI apiece.
"Nice having another freshman in Tanner Marsh (Tualatin, Ore.) get his first college hit," said McKay. "This weekend helped us define some roles and see where we need to improve. We will be ready for the start of conference next week with a good week of practice."
Corban (2-6) will open up NAIA West play next weekend when it hosts College of Idaho on February 26-27. The games are scheduled to be played at Volcano Stadium in Keizer, Ore. The first pitch on Friday, February 26, is scheduled for 12 p.m. Live Stats and a live video broadcast will be available. Check the schedule online for more information.
