Senior Makenzie Marchbanks began her final season as a Warrior with a complete game victory over GSAC power Biola Thursday in Northern California.
Marchbanks Hurls Corban to Opening Victory
BOX SCORE
ROCKLIN, Calif. – Senior Makenzie Marchbanks (Sweet Home, Ore.) pitched a complete game to go along with a pair of hits by sophomores Stephanie Nippert (Rocklin, Calif.) and Erica Fitzgerald (Beaverton, Ore.), as Corban's nationally-ranked softball team opened the 2011 season with an upset win over Biola, 3-1, Thursday at Lone Tree Park.
In a neutral site game between two nationally-ranked teams played near the campus of William Jessup University, Corban came out and picked up its second straight season-opening win following last season's sweep over NCAA Division III member Lewis & Clark. This is the first victory ever for the Warriors against a Golden State Athletic Conference (GSAC) team, as Corban went 0-3 last season on the final day of the All-American Softball, Inc. Simpson Invitational in Northern California that included a hard-fought 3-2 loss to the Eagles of Biola in the finale.
In today's matchup, neither team got on the board until the top of the fourth inning when Nippert led off with a single to center field before stealing second and third consecutively one batter later. Junior Emma Winckler (Eltopia, Wash.) then put the Warriors on the board via a sacrifice pop fly to center field that allowed Nippert to score Corban's first run of the season making the score 1-0 in favor of the Warriors.
Biola wasted no time in getting back in the game in the bottom of the fourth inning when CeCe Luster walked before Lyndsie Roberts doubled to left field advancing Luster to third with one out. The very next batter – Shaylynn Weststeyn – then drove in the Eagles' lone run of the day with a sacrifice fly to left field that allowed Luster to score from third to tie the score at 1-1.
In the Warriors' next at-bat, Corban took the lead for good thanks to a single to center field and a stolen base by junior Abbie Pynch (Stayton, Ore.) before Fitzgerald drove in the game-winning run with a double to right field. Sophomore Liane DeHart (Kent, Wash.) would bring Fitzgerald home with an infield single that made the score 3-1 in favor of Corban.
That is all the offense that Marchbanks would need, as she held the NAIA's No. 35-ranked Biola to just one hit its final three at-bats en route to picking up her first win of the season in complete game fashion. The 5-foot-6 senior right-hander allowed just one earned run on two hits to go along with a pair of strikeouts.
Biola was led offensively by Roberts, who collected the Eagles' only two hits as well as going the opening 5.0 innings in the circle allowing three runs (all earned) on seven hits with a game-high tying four K's. Roberts would turn the ball over to Kristin Larson for the final six outs, as Larson pitched a pair of perfect sixth and seventh innings with a game-high tying four strikeouts.
With today's result, Corban improves to 1-0 on its young season and Biola falls to 1-2 overall. The Warriors will continue play in Rocklin later today against the Warriors of William Jessup in a seven-inning game scheduled to begin at 1:00 p.m. at Lone Tree Park.