EUGENE, Ore. – The Corban University softball team came from behind to win a 10-inning thriller on Sunday in game one against Northwest Christian University, and then the Warriors rolled the Beacons in games two and three, completing the three-game Cascade Collegiate Conference (CCC) sweep. The wins give Corban 20 victories thus far on the year, marking the fastest the program has ever reached 20 wins in a single campaign.
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"I am proud of how our girls fought for the first win," said Corban head coach Abigail Farler. "We cleaned up a lot of areas in games two and three which was great to see. We had a lot of different kids step up in different roles today which was great. Rachel carried a lot of the load for us today which we definitely needed!"
In Sunday's opener with the Warriors trailing 1-0 in the sixth, Chaleigh Kirkwood came through with a clutch RBI double to tie the contest at 1-1. While NCU responded with a run of its own in the bottom half of the inning, Corban showed patience at the dish in the top of the seventh, drawing two bases-loaded walks to take a 3-2 lead.
Once again, however, the Beacons tied the contest in the bottom half of the frame to send the game to extra innings. In the ninth inning, Corban found itself in a jam, and with a runner on third, Sabrina Boyd forced a ground ball inning-ending double-play, with the Warriors making the final out at home base to send the game to the 10th.
In that 10th inning, Aubrene Blas delivered, ripping a two-out RBI single up the middle, scoring Sam Woodley on the play to give the Warriors the lead. Taylor Eilders then laced a double to right field, scoring Blas all the way from first base to make it 5-3.
Boyd then closed the door in the bottom half of the inning, securing the key CCC triumph. Iris Rodriguez, Woodley, and Ashleigh Lynch all notched two hits in the win. Boyd pitched all 10 innings for Corban, scattering 10 hits while giving up the three runs, only two of which were earned.
In game two, Corban got the offense going in the second inning, scoring eight runs to take a commanding lead before then scoring six more over the next three frames on the way to the blowout 14-0 triumph.
Maddy Melton went 3-for-3 with three RBI for the Navy and Gold in the victory, while Lynch also went 3-for-3 with a pair of runs scored. In addition, Jessie Isham went 2-for-4 in the win with two runs scored. Rachel White came off the bench for Corban and tossed the final three innings in relief, earning the win while giving up just one hit.
The final game of the three-game CCC series was dominated by the Warriors again, as Corban scored three runs in the first, seven in the second, and four more in the third before eventually adding one more in the fifth in a 15-3 victory.
The triumph was highlighted by long home runs from Taylor Eilders and Woodley, and for Woodley, the home run was the first long ball of her collegiate career.
With many Warriors getting into the game and seeing action, Eilders went 2-for-3 with two RBI and two runs scored, Melton went 2-for-5 with a pair of runs scored, and Kirkwood, Woodley, and Blas each finished with two hits apiece.
White was once again phenomenal in the circle, allowing just nine hits in the winning performance, giving up three runs with only two being earned. For White, the two wins on the day marked her first two collegiate victories.
In the three wins, Corban totaled 40 hits.
Corban (20-4, 8-1 CCC) returns to the field next weekend for a big series on the road at Oregon Tech. Games are scheduled for Friday and Saturday, but stay tuned at CorbanWarriors.com for any updates to the schedule.
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