REDDING, Calif. – The Corban University baseball team scored the most runs it has scored since the turn of the century in game one on Saturday, and then in game two used solid pitching and timely hitting en route to a doubleheader sweep of Simpson University. After winning the opener in seven innings, 23-3, the Warriors downed the Red Hawks in the nightcap, 8-3.
"Today's games showed the progress offensively we have made this year, especially with six doubles and multiple home runs," said Corban head coach Jeff McKay. "Landon Frost gave us a lift with two pinch hit singles in his first day back from injury. It was our first win this year in the first game of a conference series."
In game one, things got off to a great start when freshman second baseman Daniel Freiburger (Rupert, Idaho) led the game off with a home run, and the Warriors never looked back.
While the Red Hawks did manage to come back and tie the game at 3-3, Warrior junior catcher Jackson Smith (Salem, Ore.) blasted his first-career home run in the fourth inning, and it was a three-run shot. The Warriors scored four total in the fourth, and then added 10 more in the fifth and six more in the six, totaling 23 runs for the ballgame.
The 23 runs are the most a Warrior team has scored in a single game, let alone a seven-inning contest, dating back to at least the turn of the century.
At the dish, senior right fielder Hayden Calvert (Canberra, Australia) went 4-for-6 with four RBI and three runs scored, while Smith went 3-for-3 at the plate with three RBI. Additionally, Warrior junior Kyle Kilian (Prosser, Wash.) racked up three hits at the plate for the Navy and Gold in the triumph.
In game two, Warrior sophomore pitcher Caleb Henry (Salem, Ore.) was on fire through the first three innings, striking out the side in all three frames for a total of nine strikeouts. He finished the game with 10 total.
At the plate, the Warriors took the lead for good when junior infielder Vince Gonzalez (Kennewick, Wash.) smashed a home run to left field in the fifth frame, and the Warriors scored three in in inning to nab a 4-1 advantage. The Navy and Gold ultimately tacked on three more runs in the eighth and one in the ninth for some insurance en route to the 8-3 triumph.
No one totaled more than one hit in the game for the Warriors, but junior Alex Storaci (Kennewick, Wash.) came up with a clutch RBI double late in the game, securing the Warrior win.
Corban sophomore pitcher Jarett Thoren (Nampa, Idaho) pitched 2.1 innings for the Warriors, getting out of a jam while allowing no hits and no runs, registering his fourth save of the 2016 campaign.
"Caleb Henry was dominant on the mound with his 10 strikeouts in the second game," said McKay. "Jarett Thoren was again very good in the closer role. He has really taken well to that role."
Corban (18-21, 13-12 NAIA West) and Simpson are back at it tomorrow with the conclusion of the conference series. First pitch of the doubleheader is set for 11 a.m.
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