Braun, Spicer Lead Warriors to Sweep of Hustlin' Owls
SALEM, Ore. – Junior Jason Braun (Dallas, Ore.) pitched a complete game two-hitter in the opener and junior Craig Spicer (Vancouver, Wash.) roped a game-winning single in the 11th inning of the night cap, as Corban's baseball team swept Oregon Tech, 2-0 & 6-5, Saturday at Warrior Field.
For the second straight day, the Warriors and Hustlin' Owls needed to go extra innings in order to decide a winner. Over the three-game series, Corban and Oregon Tech battled for 30 innings of baseball before the Warriors came away from the weekend with two victories in three games.
Game #1 -- Corban 2, Oregon Tech 0
In the opener, Corban got on the board in the bottom half of the first inning when freshman Nate Hiebert (Lebanon, Ore.) walked before moving up two bases on a Spicer double to right center. The next batter -- senior Daniel Flores (San Jose, Calif.) -- knocked Hiebert home on a sacrifice fly to left field to put the Warriors on the board early.
In the bottom of the third inning, senior Jamie McGraw (Gaston, Ore.) added an insurance run for the Warriors via his first home run of the season -- a blast over the left center field wall -- to give Braun more than enough run support.
Braun pitched seven innings of scoreless ball, allowing a mere two hits (both infield singles) while striking out a game-high five batters. The 6-foot-5 right-hander induced the Hustlin' Owls into 15 ground ball outs, while a mere two swings of the OIT bats made it out of the infield.
OIT's lone hits in the opener came off the bats of Ryson Mauricio and Sean Teaters, while Derek Jacobson started the game on the hill for the Owls going 2.2 innings of work. Jacobson allowed two runs (both earned) on four hits before handing the ball over to Shea Bedortha for the game's final 3.1 innings.
McGraw led the Warriors' offense with a perfect 3-for-3 performance at the plate with an RBI and a run scored, while Hiebert, Spicer, senior Scott Flux (Salem, Ore.), and senior Darren Johnson (Vancouver, Wash.) registered the other Warrior hits.
Game #2 -- Corban 6, Oregon Tech 5 (11 innings)
In the nightcap, Oregon Tech got on the board in the top of the first inning via a Mauricio double to left field that scored Trenton Smith from third.
Wasting no time, Corban answered the Hustlin' Owls run with a pair of runs in the bottom of the first as Flores roped a double to right center that scored McGraw and Spicer.
In the top of the second, Oregon Tech tied the game at two-all when Kenny Simmons brought home Dan Ordonez via a ground out to third.
After two scoreless half innings, Corban put three runs on the board in the bottom of the third inning via a pair of hits. With the bases loaded, Johnson singled to center field to bring in Spicer for the Warriors' first run of the frame. The next batter -- senior Jordan Emery (Salem, Ore.) -- induced a walk to bring home Flores before sophomore Mitch Riddle (Pullman, Wash.) brought home Corban's final run of the frame via a sacrifice fly to center field that scored Flux from third.
Oregon Tech tacked on another run in the top of the fourth inning to get within a mere two runs (5-3) when Smith singled to center field to score Frank Drake from third.
The game remained a two-run affair until the top of ninth inning when Oregon Tech got a two-run single by Ordonez with two outs to tie the game at 5-5 therefore forcing extra innings for the second straight day.
In the top of the 11th inning, Oregon Tech loaded the bases against Flores, who was on in relief of junior Derek Stokes (Anchorage, Alaska). With two outs, OIT's Smith hit the ball into the soft infield down the third base line. Flores pounced from his position of the mound, picked up the ball, and in one fluid motion threw a bullet to Emery at first, who scooped the ball up for the third and final out to set up Spicer's game-winning heroics in the bottom half of the inning.
In the home half of the 11th, McGraw began the frame with a single to right field before advancing to second on a sacrifice bunt by Hiebert. After an OIT pitching change that brought Chad Trevison into the game, Spicer took a 1-2 offering to center field that allowed McGraw to score the game-winning run from second ahead of Smith's throw.
Corban's junior starter Brandon Wolters (Gresham, Ore.) went the opening 7.0 innings, allowing three runs (two earned) on seven hits before turning the ball over the Stokes. The right-handed reliever came in and pitched 1.2 innings, allowing two runs (both earned) on two hits before handing the ball to Flores for the game's final 2.1 innings.
OIT sent four pitchers to the hill with Bedortha pitching the game's opening 2.1 innings, allowing four runs (three earned) on three hits before turning the ball over to Josh Strom. Strom then went 5.1 innings, allowing one earned run on four hits before letting Kevin Huntley take the hill for 2.2 innings. Huntley faced 11 batters, including McGraw in the 11th inning, before handing the ball to Trevison for the game's final batter.
Offensively, Spicer led Corban with a 3-for-6 performance that included a pair of runs scored and the game-winning RBI. Meanwhile, McGraw and Hiebert each collected a pair of hits, while Flores, Flux, Johnson, and Riddle accounted for the Warriors other four hits.
OIT was led by Bryan Barrington, who went 3-for-6 at the plate. Quinn Hummel and Ordonez each registered two hits, while Smith, Mauricio, Taylor Skinner, and Dustin Kim Seu collecting the Hustlin' Owls other four base knocks.
With the doubleheader sweep, Corban improves to 5-7 on the season and 2-3 in Region I play. Meanwhile, the Hustlin' Owls fall to 2-13 and 1-5 in Region I action. The Warriors will return to the diamond on Tuesday, March 11th, when they travel west to Monmouth to take on NCAA Division II member Western Oregon beginning at 2:00 p.m. at McArthur Field.