SALEM, Ore. – A near upset in the opener of this weekend's Cascade Collegiate Conference (CCC) series between the Corban University Softball team and the No. 5-ranked Eastern Oregon University Mountaineers was unavoidable a second time in today's nightcap, as the Warriors dropped a 4-2 extra inning affair that the Mounties were able to narrowly avoid before handing EOU only their fifth conference loss of the season in which the Navy and Gold scored four-straight unearned runs to emerge victorious 4-3 and earn a day one split.
"Couldn't be happier with the results today," Corban head coach Jeff Covalt shared shortly after their near doubleheader sweep of the nationally ranked Mounties. "We competed deep into game one behind Kate's outstanding effort and our defense was solid. Game two, we scraped and clawed our way into a big win. Miranda pitched well and Shelby got us a huge two-strike bunt down to score the winning run."
Game 1 | #5 Eastern Oregon 4, Corban 2 (8 Innings)
The Warriors (6-30, 5-18) kicked off their Senior Weekend and final regular season series of 2026 with an emphatic pair of results against the top five nationally ranked Mountaineers (33-7, 15-5) who were just two games out of first place in the CCC standings entering today's matchups. Eastern Oregon was riding a ten-game winning streak against the Dubs dating back to the 2023 season yet have lost at least one game on Warrior Field every year since 2008.
The Mounties struck first in the top of the third, scoring a single run on a sacrifice fly to take an early 1-0 lead. However, the Navy and Gold immediately clapped back in their own offensive half of the third, as senior designated player Peyton Foreman slashed a two-run single into left field to score both freshman second baseman Layla Burgess and senior shortstop Isabel Carattini in the process to flip a one-run deficit into a one-run lead.
Two innings later, the Mountaineers tied the contest back up via an infield single from second baseman Isabella Lauerman that scored the CCC leader in stolen bases, shortstop Raygun Klippert, with ease. Corban once again had an opportunity to take the lead in the bottom of the sixth with a runner at third and one out, but EOU's defense read the bunt attempt and was able to tag the runner out at home.
After Eastern Oregon joined No. 1-ranked Oregon Tech in becoming the second top five nationally ranked team to need extra innings in order to defeat the Warriors, the Mounties scored twice in the top of the eighth to finally break through against senior starting pitcher Kate Banks, who had otherwise pitched a gem against the visitor's hot-hitting lineup. Banks would eventually be chased with two outs in the eighth after allowing four earned runs over 7.2 innings while striking out three Mountaineers.
Foreman was responsible for two of the four hits and both RBI that the Dubs' lineup secured in today's opener, with Burgess and sophomore first baseman Mckenna Hanson each picking up base hits as well.
EOU starting pitcher Natalie Dimitrov picked up her sixth win of the season after limiting Corban to the two earned runs in the bottom of the third, with four base hits, a walk, and four strikeouts added to her season totals. At the plate, Lauerman and designated player Lexi Grumbois each tallied two hits apiece.
Game 2 | Corban 4, #5 Eastern Oregon 3
Eastern Oregon carried their game one extra-inning momentum with them into game two against Corban sophomore starting pitcher Miranda Scovil, as rightfielder Hope Burke doubled down the first baseline to score Klippert in the first, while another two runners crossed unearned in the second following the Warriors' lone error of the day.
Despite the three-run deficit, the Navy and Gold would go on to rally over the next four innings and claim their second lead of the afternoon late in the contest. In the bottom of the third, freshman catcher Shelby Hillyer singled up the middle to score Burgess from third, while Foreman was plunked on an 0-1 pitch to force in Carattini and cut the EOU lead to a single run. Eastern went to the bullpen and escaped the inning with no further damage but had opened the door for another Corban comeback bid.
Two innings later, Hanson blasted the second pitch she saw to the fence in right centerfield, allowing Carattini to score from second and knot the game up at three runs apiece. Junior Hannah Griffith entered to pinch run for Hanson and moved to third on the wild pitch before Hillyer dropped a gutsy sacrifice bunt down with two strikes, catching the Mountaineers' defense sleeping which allowed Griffith to scurry home from third and plate the eventual game-winning run.
Scovil took over from there for the Dubs, escaping a one-out, two-on scenario in the top of the sixth with her eighth strikeout of the game and a fielder's choice to end the frame. In the Mounties' last ditch effort, Grumbois singled to left field with one out to give the visiting team one final opportunity, where Scovil induced the game-ending double play that she would start herself on a hard groundball back to the circle. Scovil picked up her third win of the year in the circle and second against a top five nationally ranked opponent, as she tossed the complete game win in Klamath Falls earlier this season against the now No. 1-ranked Lady Owls. Nine punchouts and just the lone earned run against Scovil's ERA made for a picture perfect start behind the Albany native's efforts.
Hanson reached base safely via base hits in all three of her plate appearances to lead all batters with three hits and an RBI, while Hillyer netted two RBI on one hit. Carattini scored two runs and singled to start the fifth-inning rally, while freshman rightfielder Irene VanDyke picked up a base hit as well late in the contest.
EOU's leader in wins, starting pitcher Maliyah Mann, was pulled in the third inning after back-to-back earned runs forced the Mounties to the bullpen, where reliever Hannah Ebner eventually accepted her third loss of the year in the circle by allowing the game-tying double to Hanson, whose run would eventually score via Griffith after relief pitcher Camille Schmitz opted to take the out in Hillyer at first instead of trying for a play at home plate. Klippert was a perfect 3-for-3 from the leadoff spot in game two, while Grumbois and Burke each picked up two base knocks apiece.
The Navy and Gold will conclude their 2026 regular season tomorrow afternoon as they conclude their conference series with the nationally ranked Mountaineers at 11am and 1pm, with the program set to honor their 11 senior student-athletes between games one and two of their final doubleheader of the year.
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