KEIZER, Ore. – The Corban University baseball team split Saturday's doubleheader with Oregon Tech at Salem-Keizer Volcanoes Stadium, winning game one before falling in game two. After winning the opener, 3-2, the Owls responded in a big way in game two, winning 7-3.
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"I wish we would have had a better effort for the home crowd," said Corban head coach Jeff McKay. "We were not the same team this weekend as last week. Thanks for the good support today from our fans. We will regroup this week and look forward to a better next weekend."
Corban took the lead in game one on a perfectly executed bunt in which Jarett Thoren placed a bunt down the first base line, scoring Zach Penrod on the play. Thoren was thrown out on the play, but was credited with the RBI groundout.
Oregon Tech bounced back with two runs in the fifth frame to take the advantage, but Corban's Vince Gonzalez came through with the clutch RBI single bottom half of the frame to tie things up at 2-2.
Then in the sixth inning, Corban utilized its bunt with a man on third again, as Josh Ebert laid down the perfect bunt on the third base side for a single, scoring Ethan Bragg on the play to take the lead.
From that point on, Tony Davidson and Jonathan Russomano closed the door on the Owls, as Davidson earned the win by tossing 3.1 innings, while Russomano earned the save by throwing 1.2 innings, giving up just one hit and no runs.
At the dish, both Gonzalez and Penrod recorded a pair of base hits for the Warriors in their first conference victory of the campaign.
Game two was a different story, as Oregon Tech scored its first three runs of the game via the long ball, with Louis Wolf blasting a solo shot over the left-field fence to give the Owls the lead in the second, and then Austin Zavala made it 3-0 in the fourth with a two-run home run.
The Owls then piled on four runs in the fifth inning to make it 7-0, seemingly putting the game out of reach. Corban responded with three runs in the sixth, however, as Kyle Kilian ripped an RBI double to center field, and then Benjamin Liogon laced an RBI single, and Bradley Thomas capped off the inning with a sacrifice fly, keeping the Warriors within touching distance.
Corban tried to rally over the course of the final few innings and pull all the way even, but Oregon Tech held off the Warriors to take the 2-1 series lead.
"There were some positive developments this weekend, like freshman Bradley Thomas' first collegiate hit and RBI," said McKay. "We need to get healthier to be at full strength in conference games. It is a very tough conference, and you need to be your best every day."
In the win, Wolf finished with two hits and two RBI for the Owls, while Alexis Paz went 3-for-4 at the dish with one RBI. In addition, Zavala recorded two hits and three RBI.
Corban (7-9, 1-2 NAIA West) is scheduled to return to the field tomorrow against Oregon Tech for a 12 p.m. doubleheader. Rain is in the forecast, however, so stay tuned at CorbanWarriors.com for any updates to the schedule due to weather-related issues.
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