Corban's baseball team traveled to the Rose City to take on the Pilots of Portland in a mid-week game.
Corban Battles NCAA D-I Pilots of Portland
PORTLAND, Ore. – For the first time since the 1994 season, Corban's baseball team went head-to-head with a NCAA Division I member on Tuesday as the Warriors fell to the Pilots of Portland, 12-2, at Joe Etzel Field.
Facing its first Division I opponent since playing Dartmouth, the Warriors came out and went three up, three down in the opening inning before Portland exploded for six runs off five hits.
The big first inning hits came off the bats of Craig Smith and Chase Powell, as Smith cranked a one-out solo home run to left field before Powell belted a three-run home run over the right field wall to give the host Pilots an early 4-0 lead.
After surrendering two more first inning runs, Corban struck for a pair of runs off three hits in the top of the third. Sophomore Kyle Taylor (Clackamas, Ore.) opened the frame with a single to right field before fellow sophomore Trevor Winsor (Troutdale, Ore.) singled through the left side to advance everyone a base. Sophomore Tony Salamone (Medford, Ore.) drove in the Warriors’ first run via a double to right center that scored Taylor from second and advanced Winsor to third. The very next batter – junior Josh Warner (Independence, Ore.) – registered a run-scoring sacrifice fly that allowed Winsor to come home with the Warriors’ second and final run of the afternoon.
Portland struck for three more runs in the bottom of the fourth inning, which forced third-year head coach Nate Mayben to pull sophomore starter Nate Hiebert (Lebanon, Ore.) after four full innings of work.
In the bottom of the fifth inning, the host Pilots scored another three runs to cap the game’s scoring and hand Portland a 12-2 victory.
Senior Russ Johnston (Independence, Ore.), Taylor, Winsor, and Salamone were the only Warriors to register a hit on the afternoon. On the mound, Hiebert went the opening 4.0 innings allowing nine runs (seven earned) on 12 hits before turning the ball over to a trio of relievers. Sophomore Kyle Lamson (Medford, Ore.), sophomore Chris Trammell (Salem, Ore.), and freshman Mike McKay (Almira, Wash.) combined to pitch 3.0 innings allowing three unearned runs on three hits to go along with two K’s.
Portland’s bat-attack was led by Powell, who went 2-for-3 with a run scored and four RBI. On the hill for the Pilots, Brent Miller went the opening 3.0 innings allowing two runs (both earned) on four hits before a combination of six other pitchers finished out the game.
With the loss, Corban falls to 9-15 overall versus Portland’s win-loss record of 14-9. The Warriors will return to the field on Thursday, March 26th, when they host the NAIA’s No. 10-ranked Warriors of Lewis-Clark State in a double header that begins at 12:00 p.m. at Warrior Field.