SALEM, Ore. – It was a tale of two tremendously different outcomes for the No. 23-ranked Corban softball team, as they hosted Lewis & Clark College at Warrior Field for the squad's home-opening doubleheader of 2021. The matchups against the NCAA DIII opponent ended up in a split, with the Warriors taking game one 3-2 before dropping the second affair of the day in a barnburner 14-11. 

"We were thankful to get to play on our home field so early in the season," said head coach Rachel Martin. "We walked away with the first game because of timely hitting and a solid outing from Holly Gonzales and Kaylee Brown. When you score eleven runs, you would expect to win the second game. Our offense continued to make adjustments and string hits together to score runs, however, it was just not enough. Most days eleven run are more than enough."

Each of the teams' lineups were unable to create much offense in game one, as the two squads were only able to tally nine combined hits. 

The first hit of the game was not recorded until the top of the third, when Alyssa Hoeke hit an infield single for the Pioneers. 

The first tally of the contest was scored by the Warriors in the bottom of the fourth, however, when Taylor Beasley reached on an error and was knocked in on a single from Ivey Uppinghouse. Beasley had stolen second and advanced to third on the botched attempt to throw her out at second base. 

Corban would add to their slim lead in the fifth, as they began the frame with an infield single by Samantha Martinez. Martinez then was able to swipe second base and advance to third on a groundout. Kaylee Buhrkuhl stepped in with Martinez at third with two outs, and promptly drove an RBI single into the outfield to stretch the Warrior lead to two.

The Pioneers were finally able to get into the run column in the sixth, as they benefitted from a leadoff double by Braylin Jenson. She was advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt, and then driven in by Olivia Brackin on an infield single.

In the top of the seventh, the Warriors remained ahead 2-1, but would not be able to hold the lead. The bases had become loaded with two outs due to a walk and two singles by Lewis & Clark. Lily Moffitt was able to coax a walk with the bases loaded to tie the score at 2-2, but that is all the damage that could be done.

The Warriors' half of the seventh began with a strikeout and a walk, and Megan Rybar came off the bench to run for Paia'ala Wilcox-Molina after she drew the base-on-balls. Rybar advanced to second on a soft groundout to third base by Martinez, setting the stage for Madison Wyllie with two outs and Rybar on second. Wyllie was able to torch a base-hit into the outfield to send Rybar around third and across the plate to win the game for the Navy and Gold, 3-2.

Holly Gonzales was impressive in the circle for Corban, as she allowed just two runs in the outing. She pitched a total of 6.1 innings, allowing five hits along the way. 

Kaylee Brown was credited with the victory, as she entered the game during the high-stress seventh inning, and limited the Pioneers to just a single run.

Alyssa Abe toed the slab for Lewis & Clark, finishing 5.2 innings of work. She allowed three runs and four hits in the game, setting down four Corban batters on strikes.

Game two was a whole different ballgame, as a total of 25 combined runs crossed the plate in the Warrior defeat.

The game's first run was tallied on a solo homerun by Sydney Cross of the Pioneers in the top of the second inning. 

The game was broken open in the top of the third, when Lewis & Clark tallied four runs in the inning on three hits. Two of the stanza's hits were homers, including Cross' second bomb of the contest. Samantha Gildersleeve followed up Cross with a solo homerun, resulting in back-to-back round-trippers for the Pioneers. The lead was stretched to 5-0.

Luckily for the Warriors, the Pioneers committed two straight errors in the bottom half of the third, which allowed Beasley to come up to the plate with two on and two out. She drilled a line drive double into left center that pushed both Makiah Johnson and Buhrkuhl around to score, trimming the Lewis & Clark lead to three.

The Pioneers were able to add another run to their total in the top of the fourth, when the frame began with a walk and two singles. Jenson grounded out softly to first, and the Warriors' only play was to step on first base, which allowed Kami Merrill to score. In a fortunate turn of events, Moffitt lined into a double play to end the scoring threat, leaving the score 6-2 in favor of Lewis & Clark. 

Corban began the bottom half of the fourth in promising fashion, as they tallied a single and a walk to begin the stanza. They then capitalized with a Morgan Gleeson two-bagger into right-center, which drove home a pair. However, the inning stalled after the double, as the Warriors took a 6-4 deficit into the fifth.

A disastrous top of the fifth for the Warriors amounted to six Pioneer runs on six hits, including a two-run single by Merrill and a grand slam by Jenson. When Corban finally was able to stop the bleeding, it was 12-4.

The Warriors would not give up, however, as they added a single run in the fifth on another run-scoring double by Beasley. 

But Lewis & Clark added another tally as well in the sixth, as Merrill tacked on another RBI single to her batting line.

The Navy and Gold continued to score down the stretch, as four more tallies were added to the Corban ledger, led by RBI hits from Gleeson and Wyllie. Buhrkuhl also added an RBI groundout to cut the Pioneer advantage to just four.

The Pioneers did not stop ether, as Gildersleeve ripped a run-scoring single into left to push Brackin across in the seventh. The lead was stretched to 14-9 after six-and-a-half. 

In the final frame for the Navy and Gold, the Warriors made their presence known, as they were able to drive in a run from first on a double from Uppinghouse. The score was 14-10, and the bases were loaded, until another run scored on a wild pitch. Wyllie then walked, before an unfortunate turn of events, where Wilcox-Molina was forced out at home on a Johnson fielder's choice. Buhrkuhl stepped up with the bases loaded and two outs, but could not come through, as she grounded into a force out at third to end the Warrior onslaught.

Corban (5-4) will be back on the diamond next Saturday in McMinnville, Ore., where they will face another NCAA DIII opponent in the Wildcats of Linfield College.

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