KEIZER, Ore. – The first walk-off victory of the year for the Corban University Baseball team (15-27, 9-11) came in the form of a walk drawn by redshirt freshman catcher Joshua Miyazawa. The 5-4 win secured a series split with the Mountaineers of Eastern Oregon University (3-34, 2-18), after dropping the first game of Sunday's doubleheader by a final score of 6-4.
Corban recognized ten seniors ahead of their final home contest for the program: Brian Landon, Nainoa Ka'ahanui, Nick Pope, Alex Hakes, Kyle Clay, Nate Martin, Reese Fawley, Chris Grayson, Preston Johnson, and Drew Scherrer.
"I'm glad we got an opportunity to honor our seniors today," Warriors' Head Coach Ethan Bragg shared when asked about his large graduating class. "They've given a lot to our program and I can't thank them enough for their hard work."
Game 1 – EOU 6, Corban 4
Riding the momentum of last night's win, Eastern Oregon loaded the bases and pushed two scores in for an early lead in the top of the first. Designated hitter Mario Landeros popped an RBI single for the first run, and centerfielder Easton Watterson took advantage of a sacrifice fly from first baseman Danny Burns for the second.
Junior leftfielder Kyle Clay responded for the Warriors in the bottom of the first, finding a right-center gap that sent sophomore second baseman Elijah Maris across home. Maris continued to cut the deficit in the second inning, this time sending a single down the rightfield line that scored junior infielder Aidan Bunn.
The Mounties picked on the low left field fence with a pair of home runs in the third inning. The homers came from Landeros and Burns, reclaiming a two-run advantage.
The Navy and Gold stayed consistent through the first three innings, pinning another run on the scoreboard. With sophomore designated hitter Scott Artzer ready on third, Bunn launched a sacrifice fly into right field making it a 4-3 ball game.
Left-fielder Austin Gerding managed to send Watterson across home plate with a single to left center in the sixth inning. Gerding's RBI and an unearned run from first baseman Noah Mayfield extended EOU's lead, making the scoreboard read 6-3.
Refusing to back down, Corban narrowed the gap in the bottom of the seventh inning. Grayson placed himself in prime scoring position with a triple and senior Nainoa Ka'ahanui brought him home, powering an RBI single into center field. However, the late game effort would not be enough, as EOU claimed a 6-4 victory in the first game of Sunday's doubleheader.
The Warriors sent out five different pitchers throughout the game, with sophomore Hayden Van Acker adding the loss to his record. Van Acker picked up four strikeouts but allowed four earned runs, while Landon dealt two strikeouts in 2.0 innings pitched.
Mountaineers' starting pitcher Jaydon Yancey showed out with a five strikeout performance that earned him his first win of the season. Jeter Larson closed out the last two innings, allowing just one hit and picking up the save.
Maris, Ka'ahanui, and Kyle Clay led the Warriors at the plate, each recording three hits. Bunn, Artzer, and Pellkofer each chipped in with one hit apiece.
Burns had a big performance for Eastern, tallying three hits and two RBI. The Mounties had thirteen total hits, propelling them to six runs.
Game 2 – Corban 5, EOU 4
With the memory of the last game still fresh, Corban was aggressive in getting on the scoreboard early. A sacrifice fly from senior Keenan O'Brien and an RBI double from Pellkofer scored both of the Clay brothers and demanded a 2-0 lead in the first inning.
EOU third baseman Adrian Roa grounded out to shortstop in the second inning, but not before rightfielder Justin Frederick dashed from third to home plate for the score. After a scoreless third inning, Frederick hit a sacrifice fly into left field to score outfielder Harrison Goyette and notch the score at two runs apiece.
Two runs coming in the top of the seventh inning were enough to give EOU back the lead. RBI singles from Gerding and second baseman Rogelio Gonzales put the Mounties on top, but were quickly answered by the Warriors when O'Brien ripped an RBI single through the left side. The scoreboard read 4-3 after O'Brien's hit that sent sophomore Ryan Clay rounding third.
With the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth, Pellkofer was hit by a pitch advancing Artzer for the game tying run. With nerves of steel, Miyazawa stepped up to the plate and drew the walkoff walk, heroically completing the Warriors' comeback.
Junior pitcher James Arend was key in clinching the victory for the Navy and Gold, throwing two strikeouts in the same number of innings and earning his first win of the season. Sophomore Sam Greenhalgh gave up just three hits in his start and 6.0 innings pitched.
With five different pitchers entering the game for the Mounties, Alex Farnsworth was ultimately credited with the loss after allowing two runs. EOU's bullpen gave up a total of six walks that proved costly in the loss.
The Clay brothers combined for five hits and four runs scored, leading Corban's batters who crushed nine hits and drew six walks. Pellkofer and O'Brien were each responsible for driving the offensive output with two RBI of their own.
Gonzales and Landeros each finished with two hits and Frederick scored twice for EOU. The Mounties had eight total hits in the game.
The Warriors will travel north to face the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds (28-18, 13-7) in the final series of the regular season. First pitch is set for 12pm PDT on Saturday at Tourmaline West Stadium.
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