PORTLAND, Ore.—The Concordia baseball team salvaged the final game of its series against Corban, topping the Warriors 7-3 on Sunday.

Concordia (13-11, 6-6 NAIA West) got the win over Corban (13-9, 5-7 NAIA West) behind another strong performance from ace Larsen Kohler, who carried a shutout into the eighth inning. Kohler finished the game for the Cavs, recording his second complete game of the season, while striking out three Corban batters.

The Cavalier offense also gave Kohler early run support, scoring runs in the bottom of the first and second innings despite delays amid a steady hail storm. Blake Drake started the rally in the first, as the freshman reached base with one out off a wild pitch on a third strike. Sean Myrom then followed with a walk two batters later, while Drake moved to third off a passed ball during the next at bat. Now with runners on first and third with two outs, Jared Young delivered for the Cavs, sending a line drive to short that the Warriors’ Marc Gallegos couldn’t reach, allowing Drake to score.

The Cavs then drew back-to-back walks with one out in the second to put pressure on the Warriors once again. Sure enough, the Cavs capitalized on the threat,  as Drake sent a single through the middle of the infield that scored Ryan Rodriguez from second.

Corban’s starter Anthony Wirkkala settled down after that, retiring the next Concordia 11 batters in a row. Wirkkala even struck out six of eight CU batters at one point, including all three CU batters in the fourth.

However, the Cavaliers got to Wirkkala again in the sixth, scoring three more insurance runs to go up 5-0. Young drew a one-out walk to start the rally in the sixth, then quickly moved to second off an infield single from Jordan Keeker. Mike Cero singled through the left side of the infield to score Young after that, while Keeker and Cero each moved up an extra base on the play, as the Warriors threw home in an attempt to get Young at the plate. Now with runners on second and third and only one out, Rodriguez sent a sacrifice fly to center that scored Keeker and moved Cero to third. CU catcher Ben Talbot then finished the rally with a single through the right side that scored Cero.

Corban scored next, breaking Kohler’s shutout with a single run in the eighth. Cody Atkinson got the RBI in the inning for the Warriors, singling home Gregg Romero off an infield single after Romero had reached on a single down the left-field line.

The Cavs bounced right back, though, adding two more runs in the bottom of the inning to widen its lead to 7-1. Just like in the sixth, Young started the rally, sending a leadoff single through the right side of the infield. Keeker followed with a double down the left field line during the next at bat, giving the Cavs runners on second and third with no outs. Cero hit a sacrifice fly to center to score Young after that, while Rodriguez brought Keeker home with a single to center one batter later.

Now three outs away from their first win in the series against Corban, Kohler got in some trouble in the ninth, but eventually closed out the victory for the Cavs. The Warriors had actually scored two runs in the inning and had runners on first and second with two outs when Colby Sokol sent a screamer to the right of the Cavs’ Nathan Douglas at second. Douglas, however, flung himself towards Sokol’s drive, snatching it out of the air to give Kohler and the Cavs their final out of the game.

Overall, Corban actually outhit Concordia 12-8 in the game, but stranded nine runners.

Individually, Corban’s Cody Atkinson led all hitters with four hits in the game, going 4-for-4 with an RBI. In addition, Marc Gallegos, Romero and Kris Gokey all had two hits for the Warriors, while only Jordan Keeker finished with multiple hits for Concordia. Cero and Rodriguez, though, each finished with two runs batted in for the Cavs.

On the mound, Wirkkala picked up the loss after pitching six full innings for the Warriors, giving up five runs (four earned) and four hits, while striking out nine.

Both teams will return to action Tuesday, March 20 as Corban hosts Willamette, while the Cavs travel to face Pacific. The Warriors will begin their game against Willamette at 4 p.m., while the Cavs start their game at 6 p.m.