KEIZER, Ore. – Day one of the Corban University baseball team's first Cascade Collegiate Conference (CCC) matchups of the season went as strongly as any Warrior fan could hope. The Navy and Gold came away with two victories against College of Idaho at Volcanoes Stadium in Keizer, Ore. on Saturday behind the strength of 24 combined runs scored. Corban came away with an 8-5 triumph in game one, and followed that up with a 16-9 slugfest in the day's second bout.

"It was a good start to conference," said head coach Derek Legg. "I am proud of the way the guys competed. It is tough to stay locked in for seven hours, but they did exactly that. We are excited to get back out tomorrow."

The Navy and Gold began the day in a 3-0 hole after allowing three runs (one earned) to score in the top of the second inning. Ben Dudley singled, following a double off the left field fence by Tanner Leaf, which would push Leaf across for the game's first run. Dudley was able to advance to second on the throw home, which allowed him to score on a throwing error by Warrior shortstop Sede on a grounder hit by Dillon Danner. The error became costly, as it would have been the final out of the frame. Instead, Carter Vieira stepped up to the plate and ripped a single into the outfield to push Danner across for the third run of the inning.

The score would remain 3-0 until the Warriors' half of the fifth inning, when a sudden loss of control for Yotes starting pitcher Dimick Wood occurred. He walked the first two batters that he faced in the stanza, and then allowed a single to Morgan Hostetler, before walking Justin Tow to give the Navy and Gold their first run of the game. He then followed that up with a hit-by-pitch of Travis Moore to make it a 3-2 lead for C of I. After switching pitchers, the Yotes were able to create a unorthodox double play on a grounder to third, retiring both the runner heading to thrid base as well as the runner heading for the plate. A two-out rally would then take place, where the Corban offense tallied back-to-back-to-back RBI singles from Estenio Sede, Reese Fawley, and Kyle Clay. The Warriors led 5-3 entering the sixth.
 
In the sixth, the Warriors extended their lead on a sacrifice fly to left field by Maxwell Jeffrey, before handing the ball to Jackson Arnsdorf out of the bullpen in the top of the seventh.

In his first inning on the mound, he struggled a bit with control, but was able to allow just one run in the inning. He allowed a walk, a hit-by-pitch, and an RBI single to Matthew Clay prior to striking out Austin Van Horne looking to end the inning.

After a Clay walk in the bottom of the seventh for Corban, Nate Cantonwine unleashed on his first dinger of the season. It was a towering shot to right field that just cleared the tall fence to put the Warriors up 8-4 entering the eighth inning. CLICK HERE to watch a highlight of Cantonwine's moonshot.

Arnsdorf would stay in the ballgame and settled down nicely, as he retired the Yotes in order in the eighth inning, but the sun created a bit of a jam for him in the ninth. He had started strong in the ninth inning with two quick outs, but a soft fly ball into shallow left field flew right into the sun for the Warrior left fielder Clay. The mishap turned into two straight hits and then two straight walks, allowing two more runs to cross the plate. Arnsdorf would bear down, however, as he struck out Weston Miller swinging to end the game, 8-5 in favor of the Navy and Gold.

Zack Simon earned his second victory of the season, as he was the game's starting pitcher for Corban. He finished six full innings on the slab, having allowed seven hits, and three runs (one earned). He also struck out five batters, not quite reaching his impressive season average of one strikeout per inning pitched. 

Dimick Wood looked untouchable through the first four offensive attempts for Corban, but a loss of command in the fifth inning doomed his fate, as he was charged with the loss in the affair. He picked up his second loss of the season, having finished four plus innings of work with four hits and four runs allowed. Wood also walked three hitters and struck out three in his outing.

In what was an offensive outburst, game two of the day featured 25 combined runs and 21 combined hits. It was all Warriors early on, however, as they were responsible for the game's first eight runs. 

The story of the latter of the day's two battles was the number of walks allowed by the Yotes' pitching staff. Throughout the game, 11 free passes were allowed to first base. 

The Navy and Gold scored four runs in the second inning, on a run-scoring hit-by-pitch from Moore, a two-RBI double down the left field line by Jeffrey, and a run scoring single by Sede to round things out in the frame. 

The Warriors then came back with another three spot in the third. Hostetler reached on an error by Vieira at second base, allowing Clay to score. Keenan O'Brien then executed a perfect RBI sacrifice safety squeeze bunt, to push the inning's second tally across, before Moore delivered an RBI double to left field to score Hostetler.

Things continued to go the Warriors' way, as they fired yet another salvo when Cantonwine ripped an RBI knock up the middle to score Sede in the fourth.

Corban allowed their first two runs of the game in the fifth inning, as Miller drove a two-run single into left-center field to put C of I on the board in game two.

Corban then distanced themselves from the Yotes in the bottom of the fifth, when they scored a total of seven runs in the stanza, highlighted by a three-run two-bagger into left-center field by Clay. In total, the fifth inning accounted for five of the Navy and Gold's hits in the game.

The Yotes were able to begin scoring more consistently beginning in the sixth inning, when they tallied four runs on just a single base-hit. Warrior pitching allowed four walks in the inning, which allowed C of I a grand opportunity for offensive success.

Continuing to chip away, the College of Idaho offense never quit on the game, as they would score another three runs in their half of the eighth inning. Four hits, including two doubles, allowed for the lead to be cut down to just six runs after eight.

With the score set at 15-9, the Warriors added an extra insurance run in the bottom of the eighth when Aidan Bunn smoked a single into left field, scoring Jeffrey.

To finish off the game, the Warriors were able to send out Ben Aguilera for the final three outs, as he did the job and shut the door on any hope of a Yotes comeback. The Warriors finished off the College of Idaho in game two, 16-9.

Nate Martin earned the victory—the first of his career—in what was a terrific outing for him. He allowed just two earned runs on three hits, and he pitched for five innings. He tallied three strikeouts and walked just a single batter. 

Ben Tighe had a difficult outing for C of I, as he allowed seven runs and walked four hitters in just 2.1 innings pitched. He only gave up three hits, but the walks really came back to bite him, as he fell to 0-2 on the season.

Corban boasted a 3-for-8 day from Clay with four runs batted in and two doubles, as well as a 2-for-4 line with a homer and three runs batted in from Cantonwine. The Warrior offense scored 24 runs on Saturday, which is their season-high for runs scored in a single day.

College of Idaho's top offensive performer was Miller, who went 3-for-8 with three RBI on the day, but his contribution was not enough to propel the Yotes to a triumph.

Corban (3-11, 2-0 CCC) will return to Volcanoes Stadium on Sunday, as they get ready for another doubleheader faceoff with College of Idaho, looking for a sweep on the opening weekend of the CCC slate.


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