Sophomore Mitch Riddle has registered hits in three of his last four games en route to raising his average 12 points in the past week.
Round 1 of "Battle of the Warriors" Goes to Lewis-Clark State
LEWISTON, Idaho – Playing its first of seven straight games in the state of Idaho, Corban's baseball team ran into the NAIA's No. 2-ranked Lewis-Clark State and became the fourth straight team to go scoreless against the defending national champions, 13-0, Friday at Harris Field.
In only its second night game of the season, Corban ran into a hot Lewis-Clark State pitching staff that had gone 29 consecutive innings without allowing a run. Unfortunately for the visiting Warriors, LCSC extended that streak to a school-record 38 straight scoreless innings dating back to the seventh inning against Concordia on April 12th.
Corban got single hits from one representative from each class, as senior Scott Flux (Salem, Ore.), junior Craig Spicer (Vancouver, Wash.), sophomore Mitch Riddle (Pullman, Wash.), and freshman Nate Hiebert (Lebanon, Ore.) collected a hit each tonight.
Spicer was the lone Warrior to collect more than one total base, as the junior second baseman roped Corban's only extra base hit of the night via a double down the left field line in the opening inning.
After Spicer's highlight, Lewis-Clark State put runs on the board in the second, third, fifth, seventh, and eighth inning respectively. The host Warriors tacked four runs on the board in the second, two in the third, one in the fifth, two in the seventh, and four in the eighth for its game-ending total of 13 runs.
Lewis-Clark State's highlight came off the bat of Josh Ashenbrenner, who went a perfect 3-for-3 at the plate that included a double in the fourth inning and a pair of runs scored.
Junior Jason Braun (Dallas, Ore.) began the game on the hill for Corban going the opening 6.0 innings, allowing nine runs (eight earned) on nine hits before being lifted in the seventh inning in favor of freshman Kyle Lamson (Medford, Ore.). Lamson pitched the final 2.0 innings, allowing four runs (one earned) on four hits to go along with a team-high tying two strikeouts.
Along with Ashenbrenner's performance at the plate, LCSC got a trio of two-hit performances from Paul Martin, Mickey Pingree, and Nic Benton. On the mound, Nick Masters went the opening 6.0 innings allowing zero runs on three hits to go along with a game-high five K's. Tyler Knigge came in for the game's final 3.0 innings, allowing zero runs on a mere hit en route to picking up his first collegiate save.
With the loss, Corban falls to 9-23 overall, while Lewis-Clark State improves to 38-4 on the season. These same two teams are back in action on Saturday, April 19th, in a mid-afternoon doubleheader beginning at noon at Harris Field.