LA GRANDE, Ore. – The Corban University Baseball program played out their final contests of the 2026 regular season today in La Grande, where the Warriors fell to Eastern Oregon University by final scores of 11-10 and 16-8 on the Mountaineers' Senior Day. The Dubs held leads late in both contests, but the Mounties were able to rally and fight off comeback bids to close out their own season tied for last place in the Cascade Collegiate Conference (CCC) with Warner Pacific University.
"Today was great for the program to be playing meaningful games at the end of the year," Warriors' head coach Ryan Harris said regarding his squad's final contests of 2026. "It was a testament to these players and this team for their hard work and effort put in this season. The difference from when these guys came into the program to who they are now is a completely different world. I am so grateful to have the opportunity to coach them, and I can't wait to see what the future holds for Corban baseball."
The Navy and Gold (17-33, 13-24) entered the day two games back of Oregon Tech with the potential tiebreaker leaning in Corban's favor, but the last-place Mountaineers (14-35, 11-26) spoiled the Warriors' playoff chances with a doubleheader sweep on EOU's final home games of the season. Tech would go on to walk off in game two today against The College of Idaho, which would have otherwise eliminated Corban from postseason contention as well even if they had been able to hang on to both victories this afternoon.
In game one, the Warriors rallied not once, but twice to eliminate a four-run lead for the Mountaineers in the third and came within a run of tying the contest at 11-all in the top of the ninth, scoring twice before a double play with the bases loaded played spoiler to Corban's comeback bid. The Eastern Oregon offense could not be stopped on their Senior Day doubleheader, scoring 27 runs across 18 innings of action against the Dubs' starting rotation and bullpen.
In his final games on the diamond as a Warrior, senior shortstop and game two starting pitcher Isaac Bateman (who allowed just one earned run across 5.0 innings pitched) tallied three base hits on the day with a run scored, while his game two courtesy runner, junior Colin McNeill, scored twice on the basepaths in his placeholder. Senior first baseman Peyton Rickard also logged three base hits in his final doubleheader, scoring three runs along the way.
Junior designated hitter Kaden Bruns was electric in game one offensively for Corban, as he finished 3-for-5 with three runs scored and an RBI. Additionally, junior leftfielder Lucas Mertlich was the only Corban batter with multi-hit outings in both contests, finishing his day 4-for-7 with seven RBI while scoring two runs on his own.
The Warriors are set to return 30 student-athletes from this year's roster in the fall of 2026, with 16 seniors set to walk the stage during this upcoming spring commencement and receive their college diplomas from Corban University. This marks a second-straight season for Harris and his staff to improve upon both the program's overall and conference records, as they improved by three wins overall and four wins in CCC action.
Follow Corban Athletics:
Facebook l Twitter (X) l Instagram l YouTube l Email
