WILSONVILLE, Ore. – In a day filled with offense, the Corban University Softball exchanged a pair of two very different results with the Warner Pacific University Knights, as the designated home team took the first doubleheader contest 8-0 before the Warriors stormed back to take game two 12-1, both ending in run-rule fashion.
"The turn around that our student-athletes showed in the second game was showing what true Corban softball looks like," shared Warriors' head coach Danyelle Huber. "Syd showed up and smashed the ball as per usual, and Emmaleena had a wonderful game, showing what it truly looks like to be an ultimate teammate. Chav behind the plate was holding strong and stepping up, along with Sage stepping up and hitting alongside other key contributors."
Game 1 – Warner Pacific 8, Corban 0 (5 Innings)
Playing at Wilsonville High School for the first time since the 2023 season, the Warriors (3-38, 2-21) entered today's doubleheader with a win-streak in mind, having just taken the final conference game from Bushnell University last weekend. However, the designated home team Knights (4-30, 3-20) scored in the opening inning and didn't stop for the remainder of the contest, as a six-run fourth inning allowed WPU to force the run-rule in five innings and end game one of the four-game series early.
After picking up her first one of the season last weekend, sophomore starting pitcher Amy Jankowski was unable to secure the win in the opener this morning, as she was charged with five runs on three hits with four walks and a pair of strikeouts. Sophomore relief pitcher Vanesa Quinones was charged with three more runs on two hits, while senior Madison Russell was able to get the Warriors out of the fourth by inducing a popup and striking out a Knight.
Knights' senior pitcher Abby Carlson picked up the shutout win on senior weekend for Warner Pacific by allowing just three hits and racking up five strikeouts on 79 pitches.
Corban was led at the plate all day by graduate student first baseman Sydney Spickelmier, who was responsible for two of the Warriors' three hits in game one with a pair of singles. Junior catcher Alicia Chavez snagged the other base knock in game one to lead off the top of the fifth frame.
A pair of multi-hit performances from Warner Pacific's first baseman Maddie Gamble and centerfielder Lauren Amesquita paced the way for the Knights' offense, as they needed only five team hits due to four Corban fielding errors. Gamble was the game leader in RBI with three, while second baseman Jordyn Rosario and third baseman Mailli Bode each scored two runs.
Game 2 – Corban 12, Warner Pacific 1 (5 Innings)
Despite being held scoreless in the series' opener, the Navy and Gold came out swinging in the very first inning of game two, scoring five runs, all of which came across home plate as earned, thanks to a seven-hit frame that included two doubles and a handful of well-placed singles to nearly bat-around in the inning.
While the Knights were able to snag a run back in their offensive half of the first, the top of the Corban lineup continued to hold the heavy bats into the second inning, with the first four batters reaching base and coming around to score. Spickelmier and redshirt junior shortstop Cambria Kerze each dropped two more doubles down the left field line that each scored runs, while Kerze came around to score later in the frame after WPU had swapped to their third pitcher of the ballgame through 1.0+ innings.
A scoreless third inning for both teams was overridden with two more Corban runs in the fourth, as senior leftfielder blasted a double into the left centerfield gap to score Chavez and freshman pinch runner Alyssa Knox, resulting in a 11-1 advantage and forcing Warner Pacific into a score-or-go-home situation. A bases loaded walk drawn by junior second baseman Alexis Figueroa in the fifth provided the Warriors with the last run of the ball game.
A spectacular complete game effort by Corban's junior starter Emmaleena Wood saw the Kennewick, Washington native strikeout a game-high five batters en route to her first winning decision of the year, limiting WPU to just a single run on five hits and a pair of walks.
Meanwhile, the Knights relied on Carlson to get them through the final 4.0 innings after starting pitcher Briana Munoz and reliever Nia Tate could only secure three combined outs with nine runs on ten hits allowed, seven of which scored as earned as the Corban offense couldn't be contained.
The Navy and Gold's top five batters in the lineup for game two were a combined 11-for-20 at the plate, with three of them achieving more than one hit in the ball game. Spickelmier added three more hits to her totals on the day with two RBI and two runs scored, while Kerze finished with three hits, two RBI, and three runs herself.
Five different Warner Pacific student-athletes shared the five hits in game two this afternoon, with Munoz accounting for the lone RBI and Gamble scoring her team's run.
The Warriors will look to win their first conference series of the year tomorrow morning at 11am, with the non-conference game against WPU scheduled for 1pm.
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