KEIZER, Ore. – The Corban University Baseball team (11-25, 5-9) and RV College of Idaho Yotes (24-13, 8-6) played two polar-opposite games on the way to a day one split of their conference showdown. Dominant pitching and timely hitting guided the Yotes to a 3-2 victory in game one, whereas game two was marked by lively bats, particularly by the Warriors, as they thumped the Yotes for 14 runs in a run-ruled shortened seven inning game.
"It was nice to see us put together a complete game today." Head Coach Bragg stated following the second game. "Consistent results will keep coming for us if we can establish a consistent mindset."
Game 1 – COI 3, CRB 2
A solo home run by sophomore third baseman Ryan Clay in the bottom of the first opened the scoring for the Warriors this afternoon. A failed pick-off attempt at first by junior starting pitcher Nate Martin allowed a pickle situation where Yotes' leftfielder Ben Gaff took advantage of the situation and stole home to make it a 1-1 game in the top of the second.
After a pitching duel broke out for a majority of the game, Gaff doubled down the left field line to lead off the top of the seventh. Following a pop out to the shortstop to give C of I two outs in the frame, third baseman Jake Denison singled to center, and using his speed, Gaff scored from second base. Denison, who advanced to second on the throwing attempt on the previous play, took advantage of a slow-moving dribbler back up the middle by shortstop Ben Hansen to score and make it 3-1 Yotes.
Down to their final out, sophomore second baseman Elijah Maris was hit by a pitch, and freshman Brady Majewski was then subbed in as a pinch runner. Junior centerfielder Brad Pellkofer stepped to the plate and delivered a huge two-out triple to score Majewski and make it a 3-2 ball game. Unfortunately for the Warriors, they failed to drive in the tying run from third, resulting in the game one loss.
Warriors' ace Martin (4-4) pitched the whole 9.0 innings for the Warriors on the day. Throwing 116 pitches, Martin struck out three while giving up three earned runs on seven hits.
Nick Eliason was dominant for the Yotes on the mound, pitching 8.2 innings, striking out nine, while giving up only two earned runs. Relief pitcher Colby Durski came in for the final two batters. After giving up the triple to Pellkofer, Durski got a fly out to right field to end the game. Durski now has two saves on the season.
Ryan Clay provided instant offense for the Warriors, crushing his second home run of the season in the bottom of the first inning. Overall, the Warrior offense struggled to get into a rhythm in game one this afternoon, mustering only five hits and drawing one walk. Senior catcher Keenan O'Brian accounted for one of the hits on the day as well as the only walk. Pellkofer provided late game heroics in a valiant comeback effort with his triple to the wall in centerfield for an RBI.
Gaff and Denison were constant thorns in the side of the Warriors, accounting for four of the seven hits, including being involved in every scoring play for the Yotes in the contest.
Game 2 – CRB 14, COI 4 (7 Innings)
A single by Maris got the bottom of the second inning started for Corban, followed by a sacrifice bunt by Pellkofer that advanced Maris into scoring position. The Warriors capitalized with a single by redshirt freshman designated hitter Joshua Miyazawa back up the middle, scoring Maris from second base.
A mixture of timely hitting and self-inflicted wounds led to four runs for the Yotes in the top of the third inning. Catcher Dillon Danner led off the inning with a walk, followed by centerfielder Tristen Garland's hit by pitch that put two on with no outs. Second baseman Jonah Hultberg singled to bring in Hutton Stiles, who pinch ran for Danner to tie the game. A double by first baseman Skyler Sadora brought home Garland making it 2-1. Right fielder Alex McFarland-Smith then doubled to bring home Hultberg and increase the lead by another run, and Hansen was then hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to make it 4-1 in favor of the Yotes.
The bottom of the fourth saw the Warrior bats come alive, as a single by senior first baseman Nainoa Ka'ahanui brought home Pellkofer and sophomore right fielder Scott Artzer. A beautifully placed bunt by junior shortstop Aidan Bunn, which just barely rode the foul line, brought home Miyazawa. Ryan Clay finished off the inning with a sacrifice fly that brought home two runs due to a misjudged pickle situation for the Yotes, allowing the Warriors to flip the script and take a 5-4 lead after 4.0 innings.
In the bottom of the fifth, Pellkofer and Artzer worked their way back on base, immediately putting the pressure on the Yotes' defense once again. Ka'ahanui was hungry for more offense in his next at-bat, taking advantage of a pitch lobbed over the plate and blasted a three-run homer over the right field wall to make it 8-4, Warriors.
Silencing the Yotes' bats strengthened the resolve of the Warriors, and in the sixth inning they finished the onslaught of runs with a six-run inning. Ryan Clay singled in Cole from second base, Maris singled in Clay to reach double-digit team runs, and Ka'ahanui singled in two more runs to continue his incredible day at the plate. A wild pitch brought home Miyazawa to make it 14-4 and enact the 10-run rule, assuming Corban could keep the Yotes quiet in the top of the seventh, which they were able to do after allowing the first two baserunners to reach safely.
Junior starting pitcher Bryce Bridge (3-1) shook off a rough third inning on his way to victory. He pitched 5.0 innings, giving up five hits, five hit batters, and four runs while striking out three. Senior relief pitcher Alex Hakes came on in relief in the sixth inning to solidify the pitching appearance for the Warriors and cap off a strong performance in game two.
Yotes' starting pitcher Kirby Robertson (6-3) has been a tough matchup for teams all season, but the Warriors were able to find his weakness this afternoon. Robertson was chased from the ball game after only 4.0 innings, giving up eight hits and six runs while only striking out one bater during his outing. Relief pitcher Jackson Cummins came on for 1.0 inning of relief, giving up another three runs. The Yotes then looked to relief pitcher Luke Brewer to stop the bleeding, but unfortunately for the C of I fans in attendance, the Warriors' bats were still scalding hot, leading to five runs on two hits in his short appearance. Fellow reliever Kaden Lapp came in to record the final out of the game for the Yotes' pitching staff.
A career day for Ka'ahanui was the highlight for the Warriors' offense, going 3-for-4 with a home run and seven RBI headlined the offensive attack. Pellkofer found himself on base all three times he came to the plate, leading to three runs scored, while Ryan Clay turned in three more RBI as well for Corban. The Warriors as a team capitalized 13 times in 29 at-bat in game two.
McFarland-Smith was the lone Yote finding consistent success at the plate in game two, batting a perfect 3-for-3. The top four batters in the Yotes' lineup went a combined 5-for-12 in the game, while the remainder of the team failed to record a hit.
The Warriors and Yotes will wrap up their four-game series with another doubleheader tomorrow, starting at 11am PDT back at Volcanoes Stadium.
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