KEIZER, Ore. – The Corban University baseball team earned a valuable Cascade Collegiate Conference (CCC) series win on Sunday, splitting the day-two doubleheader with College of Idaho. The Warriors overcame a four-run deficit to capture a thrilling 8-7 triumph in game one, while a dominant pitching performance provided the Yotes with a 7-2 game-two victory.

"I'm proud of the guys this weekend," said head coach Derek Legg. "Obviously, we would've liked a more competitive game four, but I know we will learn from it for next time. Now, an important week of practice starts to get us ready for next weekend."

In game one, the Warriors jumped on the board first in the second stanza. Travis Moore reached base on a hit-by-pitch—his third of the series—and subsequently swiped second base to start the inning. A Reese Fawley RBI double drove Moore home, as the wind played a part in knocking down the fly ball to right field, just missing the outstretched diving glove of right fielder Jonah Hultberg down the line.

In the top half of the fourth, the Yotes struck back, as Austin Van Horne stepped to the plate and clobbered a solo homer over the left field fence, tying the game with one swing of the bat.

In the fifth inning, College of Idaho would take its first lead of the contest, putting up a four-spot to pull away. Free passes played a big role in the rally, as Warrior starter Mason Shaw allowed three walks in the half inning—including a bases-loaded base-on-balls—before being removed from the game.

Evan Olson came in and did an exceptional job of limiting the damage, despite entering with the sacks juiced and no outs recorded.

The Warriors bounced back quickly in the bottom of the frame, sparked by a two-run no-doubter to left field by Zack Simon, a blast that cleared the back fence of the complex in left field. After the homer, Moore walked for the Navy and Gold, eventually coming around to score on an RBI single from Reese Fawley. After the Fawley single, the Yotes went to Hunter Kirkpatrick out of the bullpen, who was promptly greeted with another run-scoring single to left by Kyle Clay, which tied the score at five apiece after five full innings of play.

That is where the score would remain until the bottom of the eighth, when the Navy and Gold grabbed a late lead heading into the final stanza.

After getting runners to second and third with just one out, Simon once again came through. This time, the designated hitter won a gritty nine-pitch at-bat by roping a two-bagger into left field that tallied two more runs for the Navy and Gold, bringing his total to four RBIs in the contest. Following the double, Simon stole third and was driven in by Jeffrey, who ripped a run-scoring single to center.

It was a tense top of the ninth for the Warriors, as College of Idaho rallied for a pair of runs—and placed the tying run in scoring position with two outs—against Jacob Bowser. The veteran reliever, who specializes in high-leverage situations, was able to induce a groundout to strand the tying run at second, sealing the 8-7 victory and series win.

Bowser was credited with the win, as he entered the fray in the seventh inning and allowed just the two runs to his name in two and two-thirds innings pitched.

In addition to Simon (2-for-4, 4 RBI, HR, 2B), the Warrior offense was also spearheaded by Fawley, who went 3-for-4 (2 RBI) at the dish in the triumph.

Desperate to salvage a win on the weekend, College of Idaho's Van Horne took the ball in the finale and delivered an incredible performance.

Facing off against a lineup that scored a combined total of 32 runs in the previous three duels, the two-way standout allowed just two runs in eight sparkling innings of work, striking out eight Warriors and holding Corban's offense to just four hits.

His offense supported him with runs in the first and second, but it was a four-run fifth—which was capped off by a two-run shot from Weston Miller—that put the game out of reach for the Yotes.

Leading the charge, Jonah Hultberg reached in four of his five plate appearances (2-for-3, 2 BB, 2 R, RBI), while Ben Hansen went a perfect 3-for-3 (2 R) out of the nine spot.

Maxwell Jeffrey accounted for two of the Warriors' four hits, going 2-for-4 with a run in the game-four defeat.

It's a strong start to CCC play for the Navy and Gold, who will now look ahead to a rigorous eight-game road swing as conference competition continues.

Next weekend, Corban (4-12, 3-1 CCC) will travel to Lewiston, Idaho to face off with No. 24-ranked Lewis-Clark State College.