LA GRANDE, Ore. – Despite trailing all day long, the Corban University Baseball team refused to give in and fought to the bitter end in the first two games of a four-game series with Eastern Oregon University, as the Warriors (2-13) dropped a pair of narrow 12-9 and 7-6 decisions against the Mountaineers (8-5) earlier today. EOU scored the opening runs in both game one and two this afternoon, yet the Navy and Gold battled back in both contests to set up potential game-winning at-bats that came up just short.

When asked to detail both games from today's doubleheader, Warriors' head coach Ryan Harris began with sharing "Game one overall, I thought that we pressed and put ourselves in tough positions. Hayden and Sam pitched well enough to keep our team in the ball game. Momentum swung back and forth, and the team kept fighting and not giving up. The eighth inning was just the straw that broke us on defense. Offense came out in the ninth and gave their best effort, and then I personally rushed a decision and put one of our guys in a tougher situation. I own that mistake and will continue to get better."

Coach Harris carried into his game two analysis by stating, "In game two, EOU's pitcher was very mature and had three different pitches he could throw for strikes. Offensively, I thought we got out of our approach and against that pitcher we needed to get back to what made us successful in the opener. We made those adjustments and fought back into the game. Bryce bounced back from some tough innings and started taking control. Incredibly proud of his effort. He gave us the opportunity to adjust and fight back over the course of the later innings. At the end of the day, I'm proud that these guys continue to fight and never say no to the challenges presented to them. We have a great opportunity to bounce back and play two more tomorrow against this same team."

GAME 1 – EOU 12, Corban 9

The series opener saw the Warriors and Mountaineers force two ties and three different lead changes, with the hometown squad eventually taking the final lead of the game thanks to a three-run third inning of play. Corban was able to pull within a single run in the top of the seventh, but four runs stretched over the bottom of the frame and following eighth inning by EOU put the Navy and Gold into a hole they couldn't quite dig themselves out of.

Warriors' junior starting pitcher Hayden Van Acker was charged with the loss after allowing seven runs off 11 hits in 4.1 innings pitched, striking out two batters while walking a pair as well. Junior relief pitcher Sam Greenhalgh saw five more runs cross the plate under his watch thanks to six hits by the Mounties, while he managed to strikeout a season-high five batters on the mound.

Eastern Oregon starter Brock Cordes was in hot pursuit of his first win of the season despite allowing a solo bomb in the fifth, as he allowed five runs off five hits in 5.0 frames with four free passes and a game-high seven strikeouts. Relief pitchers Callan Vreim and Tucker Zander combined for the final 4.0 innings of work, with Zander eventually earning the save, his first of the season. The Mountie bullpen racked up 13 strikeouts this afternoon against the Warriors while allowing eight walks to the Corban sluggers.

Junior rightfielder Noah Owens led off the top of the Warriors' lineup with a three-hit performance, racking up two RBI in the process to lead the offense. Graduate student first baseman Nainoa Ka'ahanui and redshirt junior catcher Hayden Wilson each followed with two hits apiece, while Wilson's pinch runner, sophomore Michon Cole, crossed home three separate times for Corban. Senior centerfielder Brad Pellkofer continued to swing a heavy bat, launching a solo homer in the top of the fifth inning to give him six on the season now.

The top four batters of the Eastern Oregon lineup were responsible for nine of the 17 total hits that the Mountaineers collected in game one, while centerfielder Rogelio Gonzales was the team leader down in the eight-hole with four hits in five at-bats, two RBI, and two runs scored. Designated hitter Mario Landeros smacked three hits combined with three RBI out of the cleanup position.

GAME 2 – EOU 7, Corban 6

The high octane offenses continued their trend into game two of the doubleheader, scoring another 13 combined runs to give the fans in La Grande a Saturday afternoon firework display. All seven of EOU's runs came in just three separate innings, while Corban began to creep back into contention in the top of the eighth while facing a four-run deficit.

Ka'ahanui singled up the middle with runners at first and second to score junior third baseman Ryan Clay, while junior designated hitter Nathaniel Gutierrez dribbled a single through the left side two at-bats later, bringing Ka'ahanui and Pellkofer around and make it a one-run game.

However, with the game-tying run on second base and the go-ahead run at first with one out in the top of the ninth, Eastern Oregon's closer Jake Herrera was able to shut the door on the Corban rally with a fly out to left and unassisted fielder's choice groundout to end the game, thwarting the Warriors' last second comeback bid in enemy territory.

Despite tossing a complete game performance, senior starting pitcher Bryce Bridge added the narrow loss to his season record today after allowing all seven runs on 13 hits, striking out five Mounties and walking a pair.

Eastern Oregon's starting pitcher Will Seslar was stellar through 7.0 innings of three-run, four-hit baseball to register his second win of the year, as he rung up a game-high seven K's and walked just a single batter. Herrera nearly blew the save after allowing three runs on three hits, walking a quartet of Warriors along the way.

In order to keep Pellkofer from providing even more damage at the plate than he had already done to the Mountaineers, EOU opted to intentionally walk him in the ninth and pitched around him in the eighth, showing just how much he continues to cause opposing pitching staffs to rethink their gameplans on the spot to prevent him from turning a single base into extra bases. Gutierrez and Ka'ahanui each finished with multi-hit outings in game two, both logging two RBI and the first baseman coming around to score twice as well.

The backhalf of the Eastern Oregon lineup shined through in the nightcap, with five different student-athletes finishing with two-hit games. Landeros led the pack with another three RBI and a run scored, followed closely behind by rightfielder Jayden Lasich and his two hits, two RBI, and single run scored.

The Warriors and Mounties will come face-to-face once again tomorrow for another doubleheader at Optimist Field, with replicated 11am and 2pm start times on the calendar.

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