ASHLAND, Ore. – The Corban University softball team needed to go extra innings in game one of the 2016 Cascade Collegiate Conference (CCC) Tournament on Friday to decide a victor, and unfortunately for the Warriors, they ended up on the losing end of a 7-1 result in nine innings against Eastern Oregon University. The loss puts the Navy and Gold on the losers' side of the bracket for the remainder of the tournament.
"The girls played a clean game and Jess threw really well," said Corban head coach Nathan Ohta. "We had a lot of opportunities to score and win the game, but we didn't capitalize. When you play good teams, you have to make the chances count, and that is what got us today, but we're looking forward to coming back strong tomorrow."
After playing a scoreless first seven innings of softball, the Warriors and Mountaineers went to extra innings. Both teams threatened in the sixth, seventh, and eighth frames, but nothing came of it for either side with both pitchers getting out of jams.
EOU struck in the ninth when it plated seven runs, however, eventually leading the Mounties to the win. Corban senior pitcher Jessica Holsinger (Eagle, Idaho) actually got the first two batters of the inning out, but she and the Warriors struggled to get the final out of the inning as EOU racked up the hits, and eventually hit a grand slam to cap off the seven-run frame.
Corban junior center fielder Taylor Eilders (Cameron Park, Calif.) came up in the bottom of the ninth and tried to get a rally going for the Warriors with an RBI base knock, but ultimately that is all the Navy and Gold would pull back, resulting in the tough extra-inning defeat.
Holsinger picked up the tough-luck defeat for Corban, allowing nine hits in 8.2 innings pitched to go with seven runs, only two of which were earned.
For EOU (26-21), Hailey Kline earned the win, pitching all nine innings for the Mountaineers. Cheyenne Barker supplied the big hit of the game for the Mounties when she blasted the grand slam in the ninth inning.
For Corban at the dish, junior first baseman Allie Mendez (Stockton, Calif.) went 2-for-3, while freshman Grace Utto-Galarneau (Lacey, Wash.) also went 2-for-3 at the plate for the Warriors. Corban left 10 base runners stranded throughout the course of the contest.
Corban (34-18) returns to action tomorrow at 11:30 a.m. against the loser from Saturday's 4:30 p.m. game between Carroll College and the University of Great Falls. Stay tuned on official matchup.
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