Corban Wins Wild One at Nat Bailey Over T-birds of UBC
VANCOUVER, B.C. – Junior Craig Spicer (Vancouver, Wash.) went a combined 6-for-10 at the plate and four Warriors recorded three-or-more hits, as Corban's baseball team split a regional doubleheader with the University of British Columbia, 14-11 & 3-4, Saturday at Nat Bailey Stadium.
Playing its first four-game series of the season, Corban and British Columbia battled for 18 innings today with the final nine counting as a make-up game for a previously rained out contest on March 1st in Salem.
Game #1 - Corban 14, British Columbia 11
In the opener, both teams were locked in an offensive battle that resulted in a combined 25 runs on 29 hits.
Corban began the scoring in the first inning, as freshman Nate Hiebert (Lebanon, Ore.) drew a one-out walk before advancing to second on Spicer's single to center field. The very next batter -- senior Daniel Flores (San Jose, Calif.) -- singled through the left side allowing Hiebert to score from second for the game's opening run.
After a pair of scoreless frames, British Columbia put five runs on the board via six hits capitalized by Alex White's two-run single to left field. After the second inning, the host Thunderbirds had a 5-1 lead that would not last long.
In the top of the third inning, Corban scored four runs on four hits as Spicer led off the inning by reaching via an error by the T-birds' third baseman. Flores then doubled down the left field line to put runners on second and third before senior Scott Flux (Salem, Ore.) brought both runners home with a double to left field. Two batters later, Flux scored on a balk before sophomore Mitch Riddle (Pullman, Wash.) brought fellow sophomore Josh Warner (Independence, Ore.) home via a sacrifice bunt back to the pitcher for the Warriors' final tally of the frame that knotted the score at 5-all.
After seeing zero runs cross the plate for five frames, Corban exploded for seven runs in the top of the sixth inning on a pair of hits. Junior Owen Frasier (Vancouver, Wash.) led off the inning with a single to left field before being lifted for sophomore pinch-runner John Kazmierski (Salem, Ore.). Senior Jamie McGraw (Gaston, Ore.) then drew a walk before Hiebert reached on an error that allowed both Kazmierski and McGraw to score. Three batters later, the visiting Warriors had the bases loaded as senior Darren Johnson (Vancouver, Wash.) was hit by a pitch allowing Hiebert to score. Warner then drew a bases loaded walk to bring home Spicer before freshman Kyle Taylor (Clackamas, Ore.) singled to short scoring Flux to make the score 10-5 in favor of Corban. A sacrifice fly by Riddle that scored Johnson and a wild pitch that allowed Warner to score capped the Warriors' scoring in the inning, as Corban held a commanding 12-5 lead after the frame.
In the seventh inning, British Columbia put four runs on the board via a pair of hits to cut Corban's lead to 12-9 before the Warriors added a pair of insurance runs in the top of the eighth inning.
Hiebert and Spicer each collected RBIs via a Hiebert double to right center and a Spicer single to center field that allowed McGraw and Hiebert to score respectively.
In the bottom half of the eighth inning, British Columbia put two more runs on the board highlighted by a pair of RBI doubles by Scott Webster and Ryan Pilgrim.
Neither team could put another run on the board in the ninth inning, as the final score was 14-11 in favor of Corban in the Warriors' highest scoring game of the season.
Spicer, Flores, Flux, Warner, and Taylor each collected two hits for the Warriors, while McGraw, Hiebert, Riddle, and Frasier accounted for the other four hits by Corban in the opener. Junior Jason Braun (Dallas, Ore.) went the opening 6.2 innings for the Warriors, allowing nine runs (four earned) on 10 hits with a game-high five strikeouts en route to earning the victory. Freshman Nathan Hickok (Sherwood, Ore.) and junior Brandon Wolters (Gresham, Ore.) combined to pitch the final 2.1 innings, as Wolters earned his first career save after getting the game's final five outs.
British Columbia was led by six different T-birds that registered a pair of hits each, while three other UBC players recorded a hit each. Eric Brown took the hill for the T-birds to start the game and went the opening 4.0 innings, allowing five runs (four earned) on nine hits before giving way to Greg Chong and Jeff Hall for the game's final 5.0 innings. Chong, who took the loss for British Columbia, allowed five runs (three earned) on one hit in a mere 1.1 innings of work.
Game #2 - British Columbia 4, Corban 3
In the night cap, Corban and British Columbia switches roles as the Warriors were the home team for the finale because the fourth and final game of this weekend's series was a make-up game from earlier in the season in Salem.
After both teams combined to score over 20 runs in the opener, the bats went cold as the two teams combined to score a mere seven runs on 20 hits with the Warriors registering a game-high 14 team hits.
Neither team cracked the scoreboard over the first two innings, until British Columbia tallied a mere run in the top of the third inning as Matt Chester brought home Sean Everest with an RBI single to right field for the game's opening run.
In the bottom half of the inning, Corban tied the game at 1-all following a Spicer single up the middle that scored McGraw from second, who reached via a walk with one out.
Neither team scored again until the eighth inning when British Columbia tallied three runs on two hits capitalized by Jon Syrnyk's RBI single to right field scoring Mike Elias, who reached via a Warrior error. White then scored on another Warrior error before Syrnyk followed White home on the same Corban miscue. In the inning, Corban fell victim to a trio of errors that allowed all three runs to scored unearned for Wolters, who was on in relief of junior starter Derek Stokes (Anchorage, Alaska).
Corban attempted a comeback in the bottom of the ninth inning, as the Warriors tallied two runs on four hits as McGraw recorded a one-out single through the right side before Hiebert advanced everyone one base with a single to left field. Spicer then brought McGraw home with a single to right field before Flores registered a sacrifice fly to left field that allowed Hiebert to score. With two outs, Corban got runners on first and second but UBC's Andrew Lafleur earned his third save of the weekend after getting Warner to end the game via a fly out to center field that ended the Warriors' scoring threat.
Corban was led offensively in the night cap by Spicer, who went 4-for-5 at the plate with two runs batted in. McGraw, Hiebert, Flux, Warner, and Taylor each registered a pair of hits to account for the Warriors' game-high combined 14 hits.
Pitching-wise, Stokes took the hill for the Warriors going the opening 7.0 innings allowing one unearned run on four hits before turning the ball over the a duo of relievers. Wolters, who suffered the loss, pitched the eighth inning before turning the ball over to Warner for the ninth inning.
Offensively, six different Thunderbirds recorded a hit each to go along with Webster's 3.0 inning pitching performance that included one earned run allowed on seven Warrior hits. A trio of UBC relievers took the ball over the game's final three innings, as Kurtis Schumacher picked up the win after going four innings before LaFleur earned the save despite allowing two runs (all earned) on four hits in the ninth inning.
With the split, Corban finds itself at 8-22 overall, 5-12 in NAIA Region I action. Meanwhile, British Columbia moves to 19-16 overall, 13-4 in NAIA Region I play. The Warriors are back in action on Tuesday, April 15th, when Corban travels north to Portland for a single nine-inning make-up game with conference rival Concordia beginning at 3:00 p.m. at The Yard.