LEWISTON, Idaho – The Corban University baseball team committed four costly errors on Saturday in its third game of the Guardian Plumbing, Heating & A/C Tournament, ultimately resulting in an 8-4 loss to NCAA Division II opponent, Northwest Nazarene University. With the loss, Corban remains in search of its first win of the 2016 campaign.
Of the eight runs that NNU scored against the Warriors on the day, only three were earned. In addition, Corban left 10 runners on base, including leaving the bases loaded in the ninth inning.
NNU got on the board first in the top of the second frame with three runs, aided by one Corban error. The Warriors did pull one back in the bottom half the frame, however, capitalizing on an NNU error and a single by Warrior senior first baseman Braden Wolgamott (Bellevue, Wash.), scoring Corban junior catcher Jackson Smith (Salem, Ore.) on the play.
NNU made it 4-1 with a run in the top of the fourth, but Corban showed resiliency once again with two runs in the bottom half of the inning to make it a one-run game. The big hit in the inning came when freshman outfielder Zach Penrod (Nampa, Idaho) laced a two-RBI double to right field, scoring Wolgamott and senior outfielder Landon Frost (Bend, Ore.) on the play. For Penrod, it was his first collegiate hit.
After another couple of NNU (1-1) scores in the fifth, Smith registered an RBI base knock to keep Corban in the game. The Warriors will look back on that fifth frame having wanted more, however, as despite having the bases loaded with one out, Corban was unable to get any more runs out of the inning.
The ninth frame looked much the same for the Navy and Gold, as with one and the bases juiced, Corban was unable to take advantage, resulting in the four-run defeat. Both Frost and Wolgamott tallied a pair of hits for Corban, while Penrod totaled a team-best two RBI.
For NNU, Brady Baker led the way with two hits on the afternoon, while picking up the win in relief was Colton Loomis, going 4.2 innings, allowing just two hits and no runs.
On the day, Corban outhit NNU, 9-6.
In his first appearance of the year, Corban sophomore pitcher Rilyn Lewchuk (Oregon City, Ore.) picked up the loss despite giving up just three hits. He did allow four runs, but only one was earned. Coming on in relief for the Warriors on the day was sophomore pitcher Dallas Broge (Huntington Beach, Calif.) with four solid innings of two-hit ball, giving up three runs in the process, only two of which were earned. Additionally, freshman Jalen Garcia (Billings, Mont.) made his first appearance of the year, hurling one inning while allowing one hit and one run.
"Lost opportunities and some inconsistent defense hurt us today," said Corban head coach Jeff McKay. "We outhit them, but our pitchers showed some early season rust. It was good to have Rilyn Lewchuk back on the mound with a solid outing after having missed most of last year. Zach Penrod had a big two-run double for his first collegiate hit. We are learning how we need to be better playing top-level teams to prepare for the conference schedule."
Corban (0-3) returns to action tomorrow when it takes on the (RV) University of British Columbia in the final game of the Guardian Tournament. First pitch is set for 10 a.m.
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