Corban's Jake Balbas earned the win after throwing seven full innings against the Cavs on Friday.
Corban Takes Series Opener against Cavs
BOX SCORE - Concordia vs. Corban
PORTLAND, Ore.—Powered by four runs in the third inning, Corban defeated Concordia 14-2 in the opener of a four-game NAIA West Region Series played at Hilken Community Stadium.
With the win, Corban improved to 11-8 overall and 3-6 in league play while Concordia fell to 12-9 overall and 5-4 in regional contests. The two teams will meet again in Saturday for a doubleheader which is set to begin at 2 p.m. The following day, the series will wrap-up with a 4 p.m. tilt.
The Warriors broke through in the top of the third with the aid of three walks and a pair of doubles.
Andy Hill started the spree with a one-out walk and quickly advanced to the other corner bag via a double to right center from Marc Gallegos . The next batter, center fielder Gregg Romero, walked to load the bases to setup an RBI walk from Colby Sokol.
The Cavs nearly escaped further damage with a possible double play on a chopper back to the pitcher from Cody Atkinson. After CU starter Mitch Ludtke got the easy force out at the plate by tossing to battery mate Ben Talbot, Talbot fired to first in attempt to end the stanza, but the rocket was ricocheted off the runner and into right field for another Corban score.
Tyler Atkinson finished the fury by squeezing the ball down the left-field line to plate two more runners.
Concordia came back with a lone score in the bottom of the fifth as Jordan Keeker singled through the right side to bring home Blake Drake, who came in to run for the catcher Talbot. With a pair of runners in scoring position, Corban starter Jake Balbas kept the gap at 4-1 by getting a fly out to deep left center.
Not content with the limited lead, Corban scored four more in the top of the sixth with three coming off a bases-loaded double to right center from Tyler Atkinson. Atkinson’s double came with two outs, too, though the Cavs quickly retired Corban’s next batter to end the inning.
For their part, Concordia came back with a run in the bottom of the eight after Mike Cero started a two-out rally with a double down the left-field line. Nathan Douglas followed Cero’s single with an infield single, while Talbot then plated Cero in the next at-bat, connecting on a single to center.
However, Corban tacked on six more runs in the top of the ninth to balloon its lead to 12 at 14-2. Tyler Atkinson led off the inning with a single through the left side of the infield, providing Corban’s only hit in the inning. After that, three different Cavalier pitchers combined to walk five Corban batters and hit two more. In all, the Cavs gave up seven straight free passes to first, ending any chance of a comeback in the bottom of the ninth.
Earlier in the game, Ludtke managed to escape minor trouble in the first as Romero tripled to right center with one out for the game’s first hit. Romero would be left stranded 90 feet away from scoring, though, as Lutdke struck out a batter and forced a pop up to second to end the frame.
The game also included the first head-to-head matchup between Gallegos, the conference-leading base stealer from Corban, and Talbot, the conference-leading catcher in throwing runners out from Concordia. With two outs in the top of the seventh, Gallegos singled through the right side of the infield, moving Corban’s lead runner to third. Gallegos had not had a free base ahead of him to that point in the game and took advantage with an attempt to steal second during the next Corban at bat. However, Talbot sprung up immediately on the play and gunned down Gallegos before he reached the bag.
Overall, Romero went a perfect 4-for-4 for Corban, with three runs scored, a triple and an RBI. In addition, Tyler Atkinson went 3-for-5 with six runs batted in, tying a conference-high in a single game so far this season.
Meanwhile, Talbot finished the game 3-for-3 for the Cavs with two doubles and an RBI.
On the mound, Balbas picked up the win for Corban, pitching seven innings, while only giving up one run off four hits and one walk. Balbas opened the game unhittable, carrying a no-hitter through 3.1 innings.
On the flip side, Ludtke received the loss for Concordia.