LINCOLN, Calif. – Trailing by seven after an inning of play, the No. 23-ranked Corban University softball team showed grit and determination on Monday in the final game of an arduous seven-game road trip down in California. Undaunted by the early deficit, the Navy and Gold stormed back to even the score and eventually earn a hard-fought 10-7 triumph over William Jessup University.

It was an inauspicious start to the contest for the Navy and Gold, which watched the William Jessup offense strike for six runs in the first off of Warrior starter Kaylee Brown, who left the contest without recording an out.

Holly Gonzales entered the game in relief, and surrendered a run in her effort to stop the bleeding. That would be the only run she would allow for the remainder of the game, as the junior southpaw would end up turning in an exceptional performance in the circle en route to the win.

After Jessup's explosive first inning, Corban wasted little time in issuing a response. In the following half inning, the Warriors erupting for a seven-run stanza of their own, batting around in the process.

At one point in the frame, the Warriors rattled off five hits in the span of six batters, highlighted by an RBI single from Makiah Johnson, a two-run single from Kaylee Buhrkuhl, and a run-scoring triple from Kaycee Arase.

After knotting the game at seven, Corban put up one spots in the third, fourth, and fifth innings to pull ahead. Buhrkuhl brought home Samantha Martinez with a sac fly in the third, Arase scored on a Megan Rybar RBI fielder's choice in the fourth, and Tatiana Liu notched her first career RBI with a pinch-hit, run-scoring single in the bottom of the fifth.

Johnson set the table out of the leadoff spot, going 3-for-5 with a run and an RBI to spark the Corban offense. Kaylee Buhrkuhl continued her hot start to the 2021 campaign, tallying another multi-hit game (2-for-3, R, 3 RBI) to push her season average to .478.

Arase ripped two triples out of the cleanup spot, finishing the day going 2-for-4 with a pair of runs and an RBI. Showcasing the depth of the dangerous Warrior lineup, Martinez collected a couple knocks (2-for-4) and scored three times out of the nine slot.

Meanwhile, Gonzales was spinning a gem in the circle, stymying the William Jessup lineup in seven masterful frames. She would earn her first triumph in a Navy and Gold uniform as a result, allowing just three hits and surrendering no walks in the impressive pitching display.

The sense is clear that the talented Corban squad is beginning to find its groove as it gets into the swing of the 2021 season, and the Warriors (4-3) will look to continue building upon that momentum as they look ahead to an early season matchup with in-state rival (RV) Oregon Tech (2-0) over the weekend.

The two Cascade Collegiate Conference (CCC) adversaries will square off on Saturday (February 13) in a non-conference doubleheader down in Klamath Falls, with first pitch of game one scheduled for 11 a.m.