COLUMBIA, Ky. – The Corban University softball team completed an incredible comeback on day one of the NAIA Softball Opening Round, defeating Taylor University (Ind.) in nine innings, 11-7. After trailing 5-1 in the fifth frame, the Warriors rode the long ball en route coming from behind to cap off an improbable day-one victory, downing the Trojans in extra innings.
PHOTOS
"We earned the win today because of production from our entire lineup," said Corban head coach Abigail Farler. "It wasn't our prettiest game, but the team fought for each other and we were able to walk away with a W. I'm proud that this team has such good fight in them and plays with passion."
The Warriors actually took the lead in the third frame when Raimee Sluder blasted a long ball over the left-field fence to make it a 1-0 ballgame. Taylor answered in the bottom half of the inning, however, scoring four runs and then added a fifth run in the fourth inning to make it a 5-1 lead for the Trojans.
Not out of it yet, Sluder stepped back up to the plate for Corban in the fifth and smacked an opposite field two-run home run over the right-field wall, cutting the deficit to just two runs. The following inning, senior Paige Martin stepped up to the dish with a runner on base and did the unexpected, blasting a long home run over the right-field fence to tie the game at 5-5. For Martin, it was her first home run of the season.
The game eventually went to extra innings, and in the ninth frame, Corban took a 7-5 lead when Iris Rodriguez ripped an RBI single through the right side with the bases juiced, scoring two runners. Then with a runner on a couple of batters later, Martin blasted her second home run of the game (and season), sending the Warrior faithful who made the trip to Kentucky into a frenzy. Grace Utto-Galarneau and Taylor Eilders added RBI base hits later in the inning to push the advantage to 11-5.
The Trojans scored a pair of unearned runs in the bottom half of the ninth, but Corban closed the door after that, finishing off the exciting comeback triumph.
For Corban, the four home runs in the win were the most long balls the Warriors have hit in a single game during the 2017 season. Sluder finished 2-for-2 at the plate with the two home runs, three RBI, three runs scored, and was also hit by a pitch three times. In a career-best effort, Martin went 2-for-5 with four RBI, scoring twice.
Additionally, Rodriguez and Eilders both tallied a pair of hits for the Warriors in the victory.
In the circle, Allie Mendez came on in relief beginning in the sixth frame, tossing four innings of one-hit ball, allowing just two unearned runs while earning the victory.
Corban will play on Tuesday at 10 a.m. PST vs. Madonna University (Mich.) in the winner's bracket. Madonna upset top-seeded Lindsey Wilson College, 1-0, in the second game of the day.
Live stats and live video will once again be available, and for those in Salem who are interested in watching the game on campus, there will be a watch party in the C.E. Jeffers Sports Center upstairs classroom.
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