The freshman trio of Stephanie Nippert (left), Tamara Feb (middle), and Liane DeHart (right) combined to knock in eight of Corban's 11 runs Saturday against C of I.
Corban Sweeps C of I Thanks to Freshman Trio
BOX SCORES – GAME #1 | GAME #2
SALEM, Ore. – Freshman Liane DeHart (Kent, Wash.) drove in the game-winning run in the opener before fellow freshmen Stephanie Nippert (Rocklin, Calif.) and Tamara Feb (Oregon City, Ore.) combined to go 3-for-5 with three home runs and seven RBI in Game #2, as Corban's softball team swept The College of Idaho, 3-2 in 11 innings & 8-0 in five innings, Saturday at Warrior Field.
With today's sweep, Corban moves into second place in the Cascade Collegiate Conference standings at 12-8 overall to go along with a school-record tying 20 wins in 41 games this season. Meanwhile, The College of Idaho dropped its 11th straight road game falling to 12-21 overall and 8-12 in league games.
On Senior Recognition Day, senior Jessica Schell (Portland, Ore.) led the Warriors' offense with a combined four-hit day that included a 3-for-5 performance in the opener with one RBI. Meanwhile, junior Jessie Jones (Gladstone, Ore.) went 3-for-7 on the day with three runs scored to go along with Nippert's combined 3-for-8 showing that included her ninth home run of the season in Saturday's finale.
Junior Makenzie Marchbanks (Sweet Home, Ore.) went the distance in the opener allowing two earned runs on 11 hits with nine strikeouts. In Game #2, sophomore Brittany Wagner (Oregon City, Ore.) pitched all five innings allowing eight hits while throwing a mere 47 pitches.
GAME #1 – CORBAN 3, COLLEGE OF IDAHO 2 (11 INNINGS)
The opening game would feature 373 combined pitches, five runs on 20 hits, and 25 runners left on base, as Corban squeaked out a hard-fought one-run victory in extra innings.
DeHart would end the 2-hour, 36-minute affair with a walk-off triple on the first pitch that she saw to bring home Jones all the way from first following her one-out walk.
Corban would get the scoring started in the bottom of the fifth inning when Jones led off with a double before advancing to third on a wild pitch and coming home on a Coyote fielding error that extended the inning. One batter later, Schell would drive in the Warriors' second run on a single to left field that allowed Feb to score from second and handed Corban a two-run lead (2-0).
Unfortunately, the Warriors' lead would not last long as C of I's Nikki Shumway led off the top of the sixth inning with her team-leading fourth home run of the season over the left field fence to cut the 'Yotes' deficit in half (2-1). Two batters later, Jody Zillner tied the game at 2-2 on a single to right center that brought Hannah Johnson home from second.
Neither team would score again until DeHart's heroics ended the game with one out in the 11th inning.
Marchbanks would throw 175 pitches for Corban, while C of I's Zillner sent 198 pitches to home plate in 10.1 innings of work.
The College of Idaho was led offensively by Zillner's 3-for-4 performance at the plate, while she also went the distance in the circle allowing three runs (one earned) on nine hits to go along with a game-high 12 strikeouts.
GAME #2 – CORBAN 8, COLLEGE OF IDAHO 0 (5 INNINGS)
Saturday's finale would begin much differently that the opener, as Corban plated four runs in the first inning on back-to-back home runs off the bats of Nippert and Feb. Nippert would clear the Warrior Field score board with her ninth home run of the season putting Corban up 3-0 before Feb sent her team-high tying ninth home run of the year off the score board in left center for a four-run lead (4-0) after one inning.
In the bottom of the second inning, Feb would surpass Nippert for the team lead in home runs with her freshman-record tying 10th long ball of the season that brought home senior Rebecca Franke (Pendleton, Ore.) and DeHart for a 7-0 Warrior lead.
Corban would score its eighth and final run in the bottom of the third inning when Schell led off with a double to right field before advancing to third on a pass ball. Freshman Katie Steigleman (Eugene, Ore.) would then bring Schell home on an infield single that made the score 8-0 in favor of the home team.
Wagner and the Warriors' defense would shut down C of I over the next two innings that included getting out of a bases loaded jam in the top of the fourth with only one out. Thanks to the pitching and defensive play by Corban, the Warriors ended their day early thanks to the eight-run mercy rule being invoked after five innings of play.
Feb would lead Corban offensively with a perfect 2-for-2 performance that including two runs scored and four runs batted in, while five other Warriors – DeHart, Nippert, Schell, freshman Erica Fitzgerald (Beaverton, Ore.), and Steigleman – all registered one hit each in the finale.
The College of Idaho would get a perfect 2-for-2 showing from Jordan Huttash, while six other 'Yotes each recorded a hit in the night cap. C of I's Caylin LePire would suffer the loss after facing only four batters and allowing four earned runs on two hits, as Kyla Bryant closed out the game allowing four runs (three earned) on five hits to go along with a game-high two strikeouts.
Corban will return to the diamond on Friday, April 30th, in a late-morning double header against conference rival Northwest Christian beginning at 11:00 a.m. on Morse Field in Eugene.