LEWISTON, Idaho – Needing two-consecutive wins over No. 5-ranked Lewis-Clark State College in order to earn the Cascade Collegiate Conference (CCC) Tournament Championship, the Corban University baseball team fell short in Sunday's portion of the CCC Championships, presented by U.S. Bank. Lewis-Clark State downed the Navy and Gold by a 6-1 score, clinching the first-ever CCC Tournament title.

Despite the loss today, Corban will still be heading to its first-ever NAIA Tournament berth, which will begin with the NAIA Opening Round on May 17-20.

"Overall, it was a good weekend for the boys," said head coach Derek Legg. We competed well in all three games. Now, we have a big week of preparation before heading to the opening round next week."

Nate Martin was tabbed as the starter for the Navy and Gold, and he shined in six strong innings of work. The only run surrendered by the sophomore righty was unearned, and came in the third inning on a Warrior error.

Unfortunately, the Corban bats had a tough time providing run support for Martin, as LC State starter Trent Sellers delivered an impressive performance on the mound (W, 5 IP, 2 H, 6 K) to propel his team to the CCC Tournament crown.

Adding two insurance runs in the seventh and three more in the eighth, LC pulled away late to put the game out of reach. Corban—which served as the home team in Sunday's contest—scratched its only run of the game across in the bottom of the ninth, when Chris Grayson ripped an RBI single up the middle to score Travis Moore.

Brock Ephan—who brought home all three of LC's runs in the bottom of the eighth with a bases-clearing double—had a huge day at the dish to lead the way for the hometown team. The 2021 CCC Player of the Year went a perfect 5-for-5 at the plate, driving in three.

For Corban, Estenio Sede (2-for-3, BB) led the charge with his third-consecutive two-hit game, but the LC State staff—comprised of Sellers, Brooks Juhasz, and Tallon Thomason—was successful in navigating the middle of the Navy and Gold order, holding Corban's two through five hitters hitless.

Though the CCC's automatic berth to the NAIA Tournament would typically go to the conference tournament winner, LCSC already possesses an automatic bid to the national tournament by hosting the Avista NAIA World Series. Because of this, despite today's result, the automatic berth is deferred to Corban as the CCC Tournament runner-up, marking the Navy and Gold's first-ever trip to the NAIA Championships.

Corban (22-29, 16-16 CCC) will learn its NAIA Opening Round opponents on Thursday, May 13, with the NAIA National Tournament field slated to be announced at 2 p.m. PT.