Baldovino Throws No-Hitter as Concordia Sweeps Corban
SALEM – Corban let two big scoring opportunities get away in the opening game Saturday and then fell victim to a no-hitter in the second as the visiting Concordia Cavaliers swept the Warriors, 7-3 and 8-0, in Cascade Collegiate Conference softball action at Warrior Field.
The Cavaliers improved their season record to 13-11 and their CCC mark to 6-2, while the Warriors are now 15-11 overall and 2-6 in the conference.
CONCORDIA 7, CORBAN 3 (
Box Score)
The Warriors took 2-0 lead in the first inning and had two major scoring chances in later innings, loading the bases with no outs only to come away empty handed. Meanwhile, Concordia didn't get a hit until the fourth inning and then took advantage of five Corban errors to score four unearned runs.
The hosts got off to a great start when Annie Owens and Shelby Mauermann roped consecutive doubles to make it 1-0 in the bottom of the first. Mauermann then scored when a throw to the pitcher was misplayed.
Corban left two runners on in the second and then loaded the bases in the third on three straight singles by Kyrianna Sorensen, Breonna Bejaran and Taylor Eilders. Concordia pitcher McKenzie Marshall pitched out of trouble, however, getting a ground ball force out at the plate and then striking out two batters.
The Cavaliers, held without a hit for three innings by Jessica Slate, finally got a couple of hits in the fourth, and they eventually got on the scoreboard in the top of the fifth when Kate Santos led off with a single and scored on a two-run homer to left-centerfield by Meghan Luebbert.
Concordia took a 4-2 lead in the sixth, scoring a pair of unearned runs. In the bottom of the frame the Warriors loaded the bases on a walk to Courtney Castronovo, a pinch hit single by Aubrene Blas and a Concordia error. Again, however, Marshall was up to the task with consecutive strikeouts and then a soft liner that hit a baserunner for the final out.
The visitors added three more runs in the seventh – two of them unearned – with Luebbert hitting her second homer of the game, a solo shot. Taylor Bussey hit a two-run single through the middle of the diamond after a couple of errors for the Cavs' final runs.
The Warriors got one back in the bottom of the seventh when Bejaran hit a double and eventually scored on a ground ball by Blas.
Marshall went the distance to improve her season record to 7-3. She allowed three runs on 10 hits while striking out eight and walking three.
Danielle Horne, who came on in relief in the sixth, took the loss and saw her record fall to 3-1. Horne allowed five runs - though only one was earned - on three hits while walking two and fanning three.
Luebbert was 2-for-4 with the two homers and three RBI to lead the Cavs, while Sorensen and Bejaran both had a pair of Corban's 10 hits.
CONCORDIA 8, CORBAN 0 – 6 innings (
Box Score)
Concordia pitcher Lucy Baldovino was the story in this game, throwing a no-hitter and striking out 15 batters, including the last eight of the game.
The Cavaliers scored the only run Baldovino needed in the second when Taylor Copher hit a double and eventually came in on a wild pitch. They didn't stop there, however, adding another run in the fifth when Mariah Jimenez walked and later scored on the back end of a double steal.
A big six-run sixth inning provided the Cavs with enough runs to win via the run rule. Copher hit a two-run homer, Bussey hit a solo shot, and Luebbert and Rielly Byrd had run-scoring hits to highlight the inning.
Luebbert and Copher each had two of the Cavaliers' six hits in the game.
Corban returns to action at 2 p.m. Tuesday when it hosts Northwest Christian in another conference doubleheader.