VANCOUVER, B.C. – The Corban University baseball team was just six outs away from earning the first national tournament berth in program history, but rival College of Idaho (COI) battled back late to steal the game – and the playoff berth – by a final score of 3-1.
The Warriors got on the board first in the top half of the fifth inning when Jackson Smith (Salem, Ore.) crushed a double to deep right field, moved up on a sacrifice bunt by Benjamin Liogon (Culiacan, Sinaloa, Mexico), and scored on a single by Hayden Calvert (Canberra, Australia).
The score remained at 1-0 until the bottom of the eighth inning, as Corban starter Rilyn Lewchuk (Oregon City, Ore.) breezed through the first seven frames with relative ease. However, COI finally found its offense in the eighth, when Seth Champlin and Mitch Skaggs both launched solo homeruns to shatter Corban's lead and put the Yotes on top 2-1. COI added another run in the frame courtesy of a Warrior error, but the damage had already been done.
Corban was unable to manufacture anything in the final frame and suffered the two run defeat.
"Rilyn gave us a great effort," said head coach Jeff McKay. "He was the right guy to have on the mound for this game. He is a true Warrior. Seniors Landon Frost and Hayden Calvert – along with junior Jackson Smith – came up big (as I expected them to) but in the end we could not put enough runs on the board."
Lewchuk suffered the hard-luck loss for the Warriors, hurling 7.2 innings while allowing two runs on only four hits. Jarett Thoren (Nampa, Idaho) pitched the final third of an inning for Corban.
Joel Martin started on the mound for the Yotes and allowed one run in 6.1 innings before being relieved by Drew Klassen, who recorded the win with 1.2 innings of scoreless ball. Bobby Wright tossed the ninth to earn his seventh save of the season.
Calvert and Smith each tallied two base knocks for the Warriors, while Calvert notched the lone Corban RBI.
Champlin and Skaggs each homered for COI.
The loss, which ended the season for Corban (25-27), was the final game for six Warrior seniors, as Landon Frost (Bend, Ore.), Daniel Gober (Thousand Oaks, Calif.), Adam Shumka (White Rock, B.C.), Hayden Calvert (Canberra, Australia), Scott Weidlich (Portland, Ore.), and Braden Wolgamott (Bellevue, Wash.) all finished out their collegiate careers with the navy and gold on Saturday afternoon. The talented class of 2016 leaves its legacy on the Corban baseball program, as well as leaving their names in many of its record books.
"It was a tough way to end the season, but it was a very successful season in a lot of ways," continued McKay. "It was another 25-win season and post-season appearance from a very young and inexperienced team at this level. This team grew through a lot of adversity that was presented to them, both on and off the field. They showed great character, and that I will be most proud of and remember them for that. They grew to learn to serve each other and to trust in Jesus Christ."
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