LEWISTON, Idaho – The Corban University baseball team battled the No. 12-ranked Lewis-Clark State College on Saturday, playing the first two games of a four-game series in Idaho. Despite rain delays, game one provided lots of excitement, as Corban squeezed out a narrow 6-5 victory over Lewis-Clark State after 11 innings played. However, after dropping the opener, the No. 12 LCSC Warriors bounced back big in game two, defeating the Navy and Gold by a score of 6-0.
"It was a long day with the two rain delays and extra inning first game," said head coach Jeff McKay. "Rilyn Lewchuk gave us his usual quality outing in game one. We had some key hits off the bench from Tyler Dordan and Kyle Kilian. The first game win was big for us after the long two-week layoff. We competed well and made some key defensive plays at the right time. This league has had a different start to it this year, with no team separating themselves. It is going to be interesting in the second half. We can take a big step tomorrow to set up a second-half run. We still hope to get our bullpen healthy for the stretch run.
In game one, Corban baseball jumped out on top to a quick lead in the fifth inning. Pinch-hitting for Josh Ebert, Kyle Kilian hit a single to center field, bringing in runs from Bradley Thomas and Ethan Bragg. Ebert, back on base for Kilian, was brought home after a sacrifice fly from Jackson Smith, extending the lead to 3-0.
With the offense starting to roll, Corban added another run in the sixth inning, as Vince Gonzalez scored after Dordan singled up the middle. Lewis-Clark State answered right back in the bottom of the sixth with a run of their own, as Raymond Pedrina scored after a ground out from J.J. Robinson, helping LCSC reduce the lead to 4-1.
As both teams were scoreless through two more innings, it seemed all but finished. However, Lewis-Clark State made a final push in the bottom of the ninth, scoring three runs from Micah Brown, Evan Douglas, and Mason Verge to stun Corban and tie the game up at 4-4, forcing the game to extra innings.
As both teams were unable to close the game in the 10th inning, Corban finally got their opportunity in the eleventh frame, as Zach Penrod led off with a double into center field. After getting Penrod to third base, Ebert singled to the shortstop to bring Penrod and the leading run home. Bragg, making it to third after the Ebert single, brought in the sixth run for the Navy and Gold after a sacrifice fly from Reitz, making it a 6-4 lead for the Corban Warriors. In the bottom of the 11th, Gunnar Buhner of LCSC scored to close the gap, but great pitching from Kris Jackson helped Corban close out the victory, 6-5.
For the Warriors, Reitz and Jackson both recorded two hits and one RBI, while Penrod added two hits and a run. On the mound, Lewchuk was a powerhouse, pitching six innings and striking out four batters, while only earning one run. Kris Jackson threw five innings in relief, registering five hits while striking out one batter, as he registered the victory for Corban.
In game two, it was a duel of the pitchers, as five innings produced no runs from either teams. However, No. 12 LCSC showed their offensive strength in the bottom of the fifth frame, as they put one run on the board as Pedrina scored after a double from Seaver Whalen. Lewis-Clark State added three more runs in the seventh, and two runs in the eighth frame to seal the 6-0 game two victory over Corban.
For the Warriors, Bragg recorded two hits, while Ebert and Gonzalez both registered one hit of their own in the game two defeat.
"In game two, we got a great effort from Caleb Henry, but did not make good adjustments offensively to their pitcher," added McKay.
Corban (10-17, 4-10 NAIA West) return to action tomorrow at LCSC (16-9, 7-4 NAIA West) with games at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m.
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