ROCKLIN, Calif. – Despite a promising start in game one, the Corban University baseball team was unable to stave off the relentless offense of No. 13-ranked William Jessup University on Friday afternoon, dropping both games of the squad's season-opening doubleheader.

"Well, it was good to get the season going," said head coach Derek Legg. "Not the way we wanted the results to end up, but the process is more important than the results. We will work on repeating the successful things and learning from the failures."

Game one began favorably for the Navy and Gold, with the Warrior offense wasting no time heating up, jumping on the William Jessup's Micah Gunter for seven runs in the first three frames. Corban notched a pair of runs in the first to gain an early lead, though William Jessup quickly responded in kind, erasing the deficit with a couple of runs of their own in the latter half.

In the following inning, Zackary Simon—in just his second collegiate at-bat—hit his first career home run, a two-run shot to help Corban regain the lead. Ben Ross—Corban's 2018 home run leader—showcased his power in the third, blasting a solo shot over the left field fence. Just a couple of batters later, John Dodson followed up Ross' blast with a home run of his own, curling a two-run homer into the left field corner to extend the Warrior lead to 7-2.

The William Jessup offense came storming back, however, chipping away at the deficit with a couple of runs in the middle innings, and riding a five-run eighth to vault into the lead. It was a Joseph Starick two-RBI double that gave William Jessup the advantage, and then a pinch-hit two-run home run from Josh Duitsman that provided the knockout blow.

That momentum carried into game two, with William Jessup riding back-to-back six-run innings in the second and third and a five-run output in the fifth to down Corban, 17-0. The Warriors were held to just one hit—via an infield single from Simon in the first—in the seven-inning contest.

Brett Wetteland was able to corral the Corban offense in game one, throwing three scoreless innings in relief to earn the victory. One of the program's standout arms last year, Ashkhon Kuhualua was impressive in his first start of 2019, earning the win with his five-innings of one-hit ball in game two. For Corban, Jacob Asa was saddled with the loss in game one, with freshman Jaren Childs ending up on the losing in game two after lasting two and a third innings.

The Warriors (0-2) will look to bounce back tomorrow, as the team prepares for the back half of its four-game swing against William Jessup. First pitch of the doubleheader is slated for 11 a.m.