CLERMONT, Fla. – Sixth-seeded Corban University held No. 1-seeded Oklahoma City University to just four hits on Tuesday night, but the Warriors were unable to generate any offense for the first time at the 2017 NAIA Softball World Series, resulting in a 2-0 loss to the top-ranked Stars. The Warriors, still alive in the double-elimination tournament, will play the winner of the LSU-Alexandria and Columbia College (Mo.) contest tomorrow at 7 p.m. EDT.
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"I think our defense and pitching did enough to give us an opportunity to win this game tonight, but in the end, we needed to adjust quicker offensively," said Corban head coach Abigail Farler. "We knew going into the game that it would be a battle. We just couldn't find a way to manufacture the runs. I'm proud of how our team battled back after a rough first inning, and expect this group to come back ready to play tomorrow."
The Stars, which have lost just one game on the 2017 season (to an NCAA DII National Tournament qualifier), got on the board with two runs in the first inning thanks to tallying three hits.
Pitching for OCU was Georgia Wall, as she was dealing early on, keeping the Warriors off the board with no hits through the first few innings, utilizing a good combination of pitches to shut down what were hot Warrior bats coming into Tuesday's game.
Corban's Sabrina Boyd settled into a groove after the first frame, and allowed just one more hit during the next three innings while allowing no runs.
Allie Mendez came on in relief of Boyd in the final three innings, completely stifling the Stars' bats while allowing no hits over the final three frames. She also struck out four in the process.
Corban's lone hit of the game came from Raimee Sluder, and ultimately, the Warriors couldn't get anything going offensively in the two-run defeat. Georgia Wall improved to 32-0 in the circle on the year for the Stars, and OCU (67-1) advanced to their 15th national championship contest in program history.
The loss puts Corban (45-12) in a must-win scenario tomorrow, and the Warriors will play either LSU-Alexandria or Columbia (Mo.). The winner of Corban's 7 p.m. EDT game will advance to the NAIA National Championship contest against OCU on Thursday.
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