KEIZER, Ore. – The Cascade Collegiate Conference (CCC) baseball season was officially in full swing today at Volcanoes Stadium, as the Corban University Baseball program welcomed Warner Pacific University back to the diamond in their first program year of the 2000s with back-to-back home wins for the Warriors, with the offense taking over in a 13-3 game one run-rule followed by a 7-2 game two win where the Navy and Gold defense took centerstage.

"Chris was fantastic today, and I'm incredibly proud of his performance in game one," shared Warriors' head coach Ryan Harris following their 2-0 start to conference play. "The offense did a great job of continuing to provide opportunities for each other and cash in on runs. In game two, Josephan and Avery pitched great and also gave us opportunities to stay in the game. Our offense did a great job of getting hits, just need to continue to improve on allowing the offense to produce runs from contest to contest. A great start to conference and we have another opportunity tomorrow to build on this success."

Game 1 – Corban 13, Warner Pacific 3 (7 Innings)

In their first conference contest since discontinuing their program in the 1990s and rejoining the CCC to start the 2025 season, the Knights (1-3, 0-2) struck first offensively with three runs in the top of the second after a Corban (5-4, 2-0) fielding error kept the inning alive and saw Warner Pac jump out to what would be their only multi-run lead of the day.

The Warriors earned a run back in the bottom of the second, then officially flipped their three-run deficit into a three-run lead in the third, capitalized by a two-run bomb by senior rightfielder Noah Owens. Corban added another five runs in the fifth to blow game one wide open at 11-3 and in the bottom of the seventh, junior shortstop Isaac Bateman delivered the walk-off hit to wrap up the four-game series opener with a 13-3 run rule of Warner Pacific.

Corban senior starting pitcher Chris Shaffer was electric in his first win of the year, as he struck out ten Knights with seven hits allowed and just one earned run in 6.0 innings, all while walking just a single batter. Junior reliever Joshua Pedronan struck out three of the four hitters he faced in the top of the seventh to wrap up the Warriors' pitching in game one.

Warner Pac starter Ayden Yaeger kept the Navy and Gold in check for the first two innings but was unable to escape the five-run third that resulted in his second loss of the early season, allowing six earned runs on six hits with two walks and a trio of punchouts. Relievers Kaden Hindman and Shawn Hunt combined for 2.1 innings, three earned runs, and six hits.

The Navy and Gold saw longballs off the bats of both Owens and senior first baseman Drew DeMasi, who hammered a two-run shot in the fifth down the leftfield line for his first home run of the 2025 season. Redshirt junior catcher Joshua Miyazawa and junior third baseman Peyton Rickard each secured three-hit performances, while Bateman and Owens each connected on two base hits. Rickard led the RBI total with three in game one, while Owens scored a game-high three runs.

All seven of the Knights' hits came from seven different batters, as the two through eight holes in their lineup all recorded a single base knock against Shaffer. Shortstop and leadoff hitter Connor Hale recorded a team-high two RBI, while catcher Giovanny Alvillar recorded the only other RBI in game one for WPU.

Game 2 – Corban 7, Warner Pacific 2

Opposed to in game one which featured 16 total runs by the Warriors and Knights, game two was very much a pitchers' duel for 7.0+ innings, as senior righthander Josephan Gonzalez and Knights' starter Josiah Nickel went deep into their respective outings with just three combined earned runs allowed.

After the Navy and Gold jumped on the board early with two runs in the bottom of the first when Rickard brought home senior centerfielder Fran Gross and Miyazawa's groundout to shortstop allowed senior third baseman Ryan Clay to score, Warner Pac cut their deficit in half in the third with an RBI single that made the scoreboard read 2-1.

Clay singled in the bottom of the third to allow Gross to score his second run of the game, yet WPU fought right back and made it a one-run game in the fifth with yet another RBI single. Three innings would pass by before the next runs crossed home plate, yet it would be all Corban from this point forward as the Warriors tacked on four runs in the eighth to cement their 7-2 victory.

Gonzalez, who was named the CCC Pitcher of the Week in week one of the regular season, put together another outstanding performance on the mound in 5.0 innings of work with just one earned run allowed off four hits and three walks while striking out six Warner Pacific batters. Sophomore relief pitcher Avery Williamson ate up 4.0 frames for Coach Harris and struck out just a single batter yet allowed only two base runners the remainder of the contest.

For the Knights' defense, Nickel was consistent enough to keep the offense in this matchup for much of the evening, yet eventually took the losing decision after nine Corban hits and a walk resulted in three runs despite striking out five Warriors. Relief pitcher Brady Windham pitched a scoreless seventh inning, but a four-run eighth by reliever Mason Deverna put too much distance on the scoreboard for WPU to overcome in the ninth.

Sophomore leftfielder Lucas Mertlich simply could not be contained in game two for the Warriors, as he was 4-for-4 with a run scored while Clay picked up three more hits towards his season totals. Bateman led all batters with two RBI, while Gross scored two runs.

The first and only multi-hit outing by a Knight was by Hale who moved to third base and finished 2-for-4 at the plate, with four more Warner Pac student-athletes registering a single base hit against the Warriors' pitching staff.

The Warriors and Knights will reconvene tomorrow morning for games three and four of their weekend series, with the fourth game representing a non-conference matchup due to new CCC rules with the addition of Warner Pac this spring. First pitch of the Saturday doubleheader is scheduled for 11am.

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