KEIZER, Ore. – Kicking off a crucial NAIA-West series with the (RV) University of British Columbia on Friday, the Corban University baseball team claimed a pair of wins against the first-place T-Birds, 9-5 and 7-4. The Warriors move back to .500 in conference play (12-12 NAIA West) with the two triumphs.

Click the 'Play Button' above to watch video highlights from today's wins.

"I am proud of the way the boys played baseball today," said head coach Derek Legg. "We competed in all areas. We put an emphasis on winning every pitch, and the guys did that both on the field and in the dugout all game long. Hopefully the weather cooperates with us tomorrow so we get to compete again."

British Columbia entered the day with just six losses in NAIA-West play. Factoring in the two games today, four of the team's eight conference defeats have now come at the hands of Corban.

The Warriors got to Thunderbird ace Niall Windeler early and often in the opener, knocking the electric British Columbia southpaw out of the contest after just four innings. Corban plated six runs against him, four of which came in a momentous fifth inning. After Windeler walked the first two batters of the frame, Maxwell Jeffrey, Estenio Sede, Jared Berard, and Jared Bell all collected RBI singles, forging a 6-3 lead in support of Warrior ace Jonathan Russomano.

The Thunderbirds would get one back in the seventh on a run-scoring single from Brandon Hupe, but Corban put the game out of reach with a trio of insurance runs in the bottom half of the eighth.

Sede, making a strong first impression in his season debut for the Navy and Gold, went 3-for-5 with two RBIs in the triumph. Four other Warriors finished with multiple hits alongside him, with Josh Ebert (2-for-4, BB, RBI) scoring three times, Jeffrey (2-for-4, run, RBI) raising his average to .317, Berard (2-for-4) driving in a pair, and Bell going 2-for-4 out of the nine spot in the lineup.

In addition, Ben Ross blasted his fifth home run of the season in the triumph.

Zachary Filos got the ball in game two for the Warriors, and he delivered a strong six-inning effort (nine hits, three runs) on the bump to earn his fourth win of the 2019 campaign. Jackson Arnsdorf earned his first save of the season in relief, tossing three innings and allowing just one run to seal the doubleheader sweep.

The Warrior offense picked up right where it left off, tallying 12 hits and seven runs in the nightcap. It was once again Sede serving as the sparkplug, as he gave Corban a 2-0 lead in the first with a two-run double into the right-center gap. The Navy and Gold would tack on lone runs in each of the next three innings as well, courtesy of an RBI double from Jeffrey in the second, a Tanner Marsh single in the third, and a solo shot from Daniel Freiburger (1) in the fourth.

British Columbia continually forced Filos to work out of trouble in his six innings of work, scoring in three-straight innings (from the second to the fourth) and registering a hit in every frame except the ninth. Filos was able to limit the damage during the high-stress middle innings, however, as British Columbia would end up stranding 11 baserunners in the game-two defeat.

Mike Fitzsimmons (3-for-4, run, RBI) and Jaxon Valcke (3-for-5) each collected a trio of hits in the contest.

For the Warriors, it was the usual suspects wreaking havoc on the opposing pitching staff. Josh Ebert was once again exceptional out of the leadoff spot, going 3-for-4 to notch his second-consecutive multi-hit performance. Jeffrey (2-for-4) has proven to be one of the toughest outs in the conference on a consistent basis, and Bell (2-for-3, two runs) continues to serve as one of the chief rally-starters for Legg and company.

Marsh had a near-perfect game at the plate in the triumph, going 2-for-2 with two RBI singles and two walks.

The Warriors (14-23-1, 12-12 NAIA West) and Thunderbirds (19-16, 14-8 NAIA West) will return to the diamond tomorrow, with the two teams' doubleheader now scheduled to begin at 1:30 p.m. at Volcanoes Stadium.