KEIZER, Ore. – Scoring nearly four times as many runs today at Roto-Rooter Park as the visiting Mountaineers of Eastern Oregon University was the recipe the Corban University Baseball team needed in order to secure both a Cascade Collegiate Conference (CCC) and overall four-game series win to wrap up a three-week homestand and end the day sitting in third place among the eight-team Pacific Northwest league.
"Some great team wins today!" exclaimed Corban head coach Ryan Harris. "The offensive production was fantastic all day long. All the guys really stepped up and fed off each other to produce some big innings. Our pitching was also great, as we got some quality starts from Bo and Isaac along with great relief outings from Eddie, Johnny, and Josh. It was great to secure a CCC series win and an overall series win at that."
Game 1 | Corban 9, Eastern Oregon 1
Led behind their upperclassmen leaders, the Warriors (10-12, 6-4) trampled the Mounties (5-14, 2-7) by a 22-6 scoring margin across today's doubleheader, yet EOU struck first in both contests with first inning runs before Corban rallied in both contests immediately after. In game one, the Dubs scored nine unanswered runs across the next eight innings while the pitching staff slammed the door shut on each Mountaineer comeback bid.
Warriors' senior starting pitcher Robert Hayes Jr. picked up his second win of the season following a 5.2 inning quality start where he allowed just one earned run off seven hits and a pair of strikeouts, while senior relief pitcher Joshua Pedronan and redshirt junior reliever Eddie Gould combined for the final 3.1 innings of shutout baseball.
Mounties' starting pitcher Reed Stamps was charged with the loss after being pulled following the third inning, allowing four runs off five hits due to three free passes, while reliever Keola Yim saw another four runs score off his lone inning on the bump. Relief pitcher Joey Weissenfels had the best overall outing of the day for EOU, as he pitched the final 4.0 innings and allowed just one run off three hits.
Senior first baseman Peyton Rickard moved to the leadoff spot on Harris' lineup card to start game three and began one of the greatest weekend performances this season by a Warrior, beginning in game two where he was 2-for-5 with a run scored. Redshirt sophomore rightfielder Sean Shaffer secured three hits and two RBI, while senior shortstop Isaac Bateman tacked on another three RBI and two runs scored. Junior leftfielder Lucas Mertlich led all players with four RBI.
Six of the Mountaineers' nine team hits in game one today came from three different hitters, as shortstop Jace Nagler, designated hitter Mario Landerso, and leftfielder Greyson McDaniel all tallied two hits, with Nagler responsible for their only run on a leadoff solo shot to start the morning matchup.
Game 2 | Corban 13, Eastern Oregon 5
While the small-ball had worked well all weekend long to date, Rickard and junior second baseman Colin McNeill decided it was time for some no-doubters at Roto-Rooter Park, breaking open a 2-2 tie in the bottom of the second with a Rickard solo shot followed by a McNeill two-run bomb to put Corban up 5-2. Eastern Oregon rallied to tie the contest at 5-all, but the offense roared to life once again and scored eight-straight runs to wrap up the four game series in convincing fashion.
Bateman started game four on the mound but was unable to pick up the win after the tying run came around to score following his departure, but nonetheless still delivered an impressive three-run, eight-hit outing to pick up the win. Redshirt senior relief pitcher Christian Pederson was designated for the win as the last pitcher to have appeared following the Mountaineers' comeback. Gould reappeared for 2.0 innings of effortless relief, while sophomore Johnny Brabb allowed a single base runner in the top of the ninth.
Neither EOU's game four starter nor the first two relief pitchers out of the pen were charged with the loss after the Mountaineers' offense provided them with a temporary bailout. However, relief pitcher Gabe Smitherman was lit up for three runs in one inning to accept the loss in his first appearance of the season.
Rickard complimented an impressive 5-for-5 outing with two RBI and three runs scored, while redshirt sophomore third baseman JC Klee finished 4-for-4 with three RBI. Senior centerfielder Chase Elliott, Shaffer, and Mertlich added two more multi-hit outings for the Navy and Gold.
Another solid outing at the plate for Nagler was spoiled by the Corban offense providing far too much pressure on Eastern Oregon's hitters, as he tallied two more hits and leftfielder Lucas Smith finished 3-for-4 with a pair of runs scored. First baseman Jason DeBone tacked on another three RBI off two hits.
After a three-week homestand, the Warriors will now hit the road for five-consecutive weekends, beginning across the US-Canadian border where they'll visit RV University of British Columbia (12-6, 6-1) on Saturday and Sunday with 1pm and 11am doubleheader start times, respectively.
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