KEIZER, Ore. – An early offensive attack followed by eighteen-consecutive innings of one-run ball by the Corban University Baseball pitching staff allowed the host Warriors to hand Oregon Tech their first series loss in Keizer since the 2022 season and snap a four-series losing skid to the Hustlin' Owls. With this weekend's series being reallocated to the four-game Cascade Collegiate Conference (CCC) that the Dubs were initially supposed to host in April, their 3-1 record against Tech allows them to sit in first place all alone following the first two days of conference action.
"Incredible effort by our guys today and in this series overall," began Warriors' head coach Ryan Harris. Game one was all about Bo, who was absolutely outstanding for us. Game two, Isaac had another fantastic outing on the mound. Our offense got out to early leads and from there, it was pitching and defense that allowed us to hold OIT to just one run all day. I'm very proud of these men, grateful to see them play like they did this weekend. Can't say enough about their efforts this weekend."
Game 1 | Corban 3, Oregon Tech 0
A trio of unearned runs is all the Warriors (5-9, 3-1) needed to hold the edge on the scoreboard in game one, as a stellar outing from senior Robert Hayes Jr. kept the Hustlin' Owls at bay and scoreless through a complete game effort. He concluded his afternoon on the mound needing just 92 pitches to collect his 27 outs, facing only 32 batters in total after limiting Tech to just two hits and two walks while striking out a trio of Owls.
Hayes Jr's pitching counterpart from the visiting staff, righthander Noah Loew, allowed the three unearned runs across the first two innings that ultimately cost him the win despite going 6.0 innings with three hits and a pair of strikeouts added to his season totals. Reliever Caleb Randolph pitched the final 2.0 innings of defense for OIT, allowing a hit and a walk while striking out three Navy and Gold student-athletes.
A bases loaded walk to start the scoring drove in senior centerfielder Chase Elliott in the first inning, eventually representing the winning run and one of four Warriors to collect a hit in game one. Elliott was joined by redshirt sophomore rightfielder Sean Shaffer, senior first baseman Peyton Rickard, and redshirt sophomore third baseman JC Klee in recording base hits.
Just second baseman Nick Gimino and designated hitter Logan Pontecorvo were able to register a single hit apiece against Hayes Jr., one of which was a two-bagger to Pontecorvo in the top of the fourth inning.
Game 2 | Corban 3, Oregon Tech 1
Having clinched at least a series split at worst, the Dubs once again played with nothing to lose on the mound after picking up another early lead with Klee, senior starting pitcher Isaac Bateman, and redshirt junior second baseman Ethan Ammerman combining for three runs in the first three innings. Tech managed to finally steal a run back in the top of the seventh, but a 2.1-inning save by redshirt junior reliever Eddie Gould slammed the door on any Owl comeback bids. Bateman picked up his first win of the season on the mound after going 6.0 frames of scoreless ball, walking a batter with five hits surrendered while striking out four.
OIT starting pitcher Aiden Lundquist took the loss with all three runs charged to him in the first three frames, while relief pitchers Kaden Melzer and Collin Hysell kept the Dubs off the scoreboard the remainder of their 5.0 combined innings of work.
Multi-hit outings for Shaffer, Rickard, and Bateman powered the Warrior offense in the series finale, with Shaffer collecting four hits on the day to lead all batters. For a second-straight contest, redshirt sophomore pinch runner Jaebin Sotelo utilized his speed to steal bags and in turn, runs from Tech on the basepaths.
Designated hitter Andrew Sharp moved to the leadoff spot for the Owls and finished with the best offensive performance of the day for any of the visiting student-athletes, earning three hits in four plate appearances alongside an RBI.
The Navy and Gold are back on their home turf next weekend as they're scheduled to host The College of Idaho (7-1, 0-0) in a three-game CCC series with a fourth non-conference contest beginning on Friday, February 27th with 2pm & 5pm doubleheader start times.
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