KEIZER, Ore. – The offense has been firing on all cylinders since scoring 31 runs against an NAIA Top 25 team last weekend, all that the Corban University Baseball team (7-18, 1-3) needed was an exceptional pitching performance to right the winning ship, which they found tonight in the form of several bullpen arms in a 7-4 win over NCAA DIII Pacific University (14-6, 11-2).
"Today was a great team win, I'm very proud of our guys," Warriors' Head Coach Ethan Bragg shared following his team's winning performance. "They battled the adversity, and we had guys make some great plays in big spots."
It didn't take long for the Warriors to strike first in this contest, as sophomore third baseman Ryan Clay drew an opening walk and advanced to third via a single by his brother, junior left fielder Kyle Clay. He scored the very next at-bat on some trickery on the basepaths, as Kyle broke for second base and was picked off on the steal attempt, allowing Ryan to speed to home untouched for a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning.
In a midweek non-conference contest, the Coach Bragg started a lot of reserve players to allow them to see some playing time, and freshman first baseman Trey Williams made the most of his opportunity. In the bottom of the second with the bases loaded, he cranked a deep shot to right centerfield that just barely caught the top of the fence. This allowed all three runners to fly around the bases and score with ease, giving the freshman a three-RBI double and increasing the lead to 4-0 in favor of Corban.
The Boxers responded immediately in the top of the third inning, scoring three runs with one out via an RBI double with a runner on second, followed by a deep two-run home run by second baseman Drew Thomas. The Warriors were able to escape the rest of the inning unscathed, leading 4-3 after 3.0 full innings of play.
With the momentum now in their favor, Pacific tied the ballgame three innings later in the top sixth inning, scoring on an infield single to the second baseman with no outs in the frame. The Warriors worked around the threat with two runners on base, leading to the bottom of the sixth in a 4-all contest.
A two-out rally is exactly what the Navy and Gold needed if they were going to pick up a quality non-conference victory, as Ryan Clay came through once again for the Warriors with runners on second and third base. In a 2-2 count, Clay blasted a pitch to the right field fence, narrowly evading a diving attempt by Boxers' right fielder CJ Colyer to bounce off the warning track and allow him to sprint to third base with a triple, clearing the bases in the process.
The Warriors added one more run in the bottom of the eighth for good measure, as Ryan Clay singled up the middle with two outs to score redshirt sophomore Nick Pope from second base and stretching the lead to 7-4, needing just three more outs out of their closer, redshirt sophomore Trevor Szczepanek, to secure the home win.
Having allowed only one hit thus far through 1.1 innings, Szczepanek needed less than 10 pitches to close out the remainder of the Pacific batters, as he earned his third strikeout to start the inning and induced back-to-back putouts to close out his third save of the season.
Warriors' junior starting pitcher James Arend was given a no decision after allowing three runs off five hits in 2.2 opening innings, while junior and freshman relief pitchers Giovanni Cervantes and Ryson Wa'alani combined for another 2.2 innings, allowing just one hit and one unearned run. Senior relief pitcher Alex Hakes picks up his first win of the season after 1.1 innings pitched and a pair of strikeouts, while Szczepanek closed out the game with three strikeouts in 2.1 innings, allowing just one hit in the process.
Pacific threw a plethora of pitchers in their midweek non-conference game, as nine different pitchers took to the mound this evening. Relief pitcher Sage Dunaway took the loss after allowing the bases-clearing triple to the younger Clay brother to break the 4-4 tie.
Ryan Clay and Williams led the Corban offense with three RBIs apiece, with Clay going 3-for-4 at the plate in the leadoff spot for the Warriors. Sophomore right fielder Scott Artzer and redshirt freshman Joshua Miyazawa recorded the other pair of hits for the hometown squad.
Pacific spread seven hits over seven different student-athletes, with Thomas' third inning blast being the highlight of their offense.
The Warriors will now embrace their bye weekend in CCC play with the weekend off and will turn their attention to another non-conference game next Tuesday at NCAA DIII Lewis & Clark College (16-7, 6-5) in Portland, with first pitch scheduled for 1pm PDT.
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