MONMOUTH, Ore. – A handful of scoring opportunities throughout their Wednesday doubleheader came up just short for the Corban University Softball team, as the NCAA DII Wolves of Western Oregon University handed the Warriors a pair of 5-0 and 10-2 final scores prior to the continuation of conference play for the Navy and Gold this upcoming weekend in Idaho.
"Today was a good day for some midweek softball after getting rained out on Monday," began Corban head coach Danyelle Huber. "Vanesa pitched a great first game for us and overall, we had some great improvements at the plate and are trending in the right direction as a team."
GAME 1 – WOU 5, Corban 0
All five of the runs scored in game one of today's doubleheader came in just two innings for the Wolves (13-8), as Western Oregon scored the first run of the contest in the bottom of the second inning and added four more the following frame. The Warriors (1-19) put together multiple offensive threats over the course over their seven inning game by collecting three hits and drawing five walks but were unable to push any of the baserunners across home plate.
Corban sophomore starting pitcher Vanesa Quinones accepted the loss result after allowing five runs over 6.0 innings of action, with the Wolves securing 13 hits with just one extra base hit while Quinones secured a pair of strikeouts and allowed no free passes.
For Western Oregon, starting pitcher Mackenzee Collins took home the win after tossing 4.0 innings of shutout softball, with four walks issued and two Corban hits allowed under her watch. Relief pitcher Erica Soliz appeared out of the bullpen for the final 3.0 innings and allowed one hit and one walk while snagging a game-high six strikeouts.
Warriors' redshirt sophomore first baseman Madelyn Robinson was the first Corban student-athlete to nab a base hit in today's opener, followed by sophomore leftfielder Josie Landis and junior second baseman Alexis Figueroa. Redshirt junior shortstop Cami Kerze drew a game-high two walks for the Navy and Gold.
Centerfielder Victoria Zimmerman was an offensive sparkplug for the Wolves in game one, batting a perfect 4-for-4 with a run scored out of the third spot in the WOU lineup. Four more Western Oregon batters locked up multi-hit performances, with all five of their RBI assigned to five different student-athletes.
GAME 2 – WOU 10, Corban 2 (5 Innings)
The Wolves once again scored six runs in back-to-back frames early in game two of their doubleheader, adding another scoring play in the bottom of the fourth to hold a 7-0 lead entering the fifth. However, Corban started to mount a comeback in their offensive half of the next inning, and all with two outs after the first two batters unsuccessfully reached base. Senior catcher Samantha Martinez came around to score after drawing a walk and advancing to second on a wild pitch thanks to another single from Robinson, while back-to-back singles to left field from Kerze and Figueroa allowed Robinson to score to cut the Wolves' lead to five runs.
Determined to clinch the doubleheader sweep, Western Oregon was able to score three runs in the bottom of the fifth to enact the run-rule over the Warriors, as designated player Karly Tiedeman slashed a walk-off single into left field to conclude the afternoon on WOU's campus.
Sophomore starting pitcher Kate Banks was unable to escape the first inning and was charged with the first two runs of the game, resulting in the loss decision. A quartet of Warrior relief pitchers capped by Quinones in the fifth came out of the bullpen in their final matchup with the Wolves, with sophomore relief pitcher Amy Jankowski having the best all-around performance of 1.1 innings pitched with just one hit, one walk, one run, and all three Corban strikeouts to her name.
Wolves' starter Alivia Holden pitched the first 3.0 innings of game two and added the win to her season record, allowing just two hits and one free pass. Relief pitcher Jessica Morgan was responsible for the two Warrior runs and tagged for four hits over 2.0 innings, striking out a pair of batters along the way and walking two more.
Robinson was the only Corban hitter with multiple hits in a single contest today, as she went 2-for-3 in game two with a run scored. Kerze and Figueroa each picked up another hit, while sophomore designated hitter Gianna Redman and freshman rightfielder Breanna Crosby both reach base safely with a hit apiece with Redman's going for extra bases.
In her only start of the day, WOU catcher Natalie Willoughby finished the game with three hits, five RBI, and two runs scored to lead the Wolves' offense, with Tiedeman holding the other multi-hit outing and a pair of RBI.
Corban softball will head east to battle the No. 22-ranked College of Idaho Yotes (13-7, 5-0) this upcoming weekend, with the first doubleheader scheduled for Friday, March 15th at 2pm MT.
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