Corban eaned the 2015 Cascade Collegiate Conference Tournament Softball Championship presented by U.S. Bank. (photo by Kelly Caleb)
Corban Earns CCC Softball Tournament Championship with 8-6 Win over Oregon Tech
KLAMATH FALLS, Ore. – Oregon Tech stormed out to a 16-2 win in today’s opener, but it would be Corban University taking the winner-take-all contest 8-6 to earn the 2015 Cascade Collegiate Conference Softball Tournament Championship presented by U.S. Bank today at the OIT Softball Complex.
Oregon Tech (41-14) is hosting a NAIA Opening Round four-team tournament beginning May 11-13, while Corban (38-16) earned the Cascade Conference automatic qualifying bid, having won the CCC tournament crown. Oregon Tech and Corban will learn their pairings on May 7.
Game 1 (Oregon Tech 16 vs Corban 2) - Oregon Tech exploded for 19 hits to cruise by Corban University, 16-2, sending today’s Cascade Collegiate Conference Softball Championship to a winner-take-all game between the Owls and Warriors.
A five-run first inning was enough run support for Tech starter Riley Carleton to earn her third win of the tournament. Carleton allowed six hits and struck out four to improve to 17-4 on the season.
Moates got the Owls on the board first with a two-run single scoring Katie Virtue and McKenzie Shrum, who both led off with singles. Tre Sullivan recorded Tech’s fourth-straight hit to open the top of the first, a single scoring Moates. Sadie Birch next doubled to plate Sullivan with Cassidy Hoglund’s single knocking in Birch to make it 5-0 before Corban got their chance to bat.
Corban plated two in their first at-bat with Annie Owen blasting a leadoff homerun to left field. RaeAnna Dorcas singled in the Warriors second run of the inning, but that would be it for CU, as the Owls scored 11 unanswered to cruise to the 16-2 win.
The Owls scored four more in the second with two coming in the third and fifth to go with three in the fourth ending the game by the 8-run mercy rule.
Sadie Birch finished 4-for-4 with five RBI to lead the offensive attack in game one. Katie Virtue and Tara Moates drove in three runs each. Virtue and Tre Sullivan added three hits each. Birch added two doubles with Moates and Virtue one each. Birch hit her 11
th homer of the year in the opening game.
Owen had two hits in the loss, including a home run, Corban’s only extra base hit of the game. Sorensen, Dorcas, Kali Van Cleave and Aubrene Blas singled in the loss with Dorcas driving in a run.
Game 2 ( Corban 8 vs Oregon Tech 6) - Corban used a four-run sixth inning, including a three-run homer from Kyrianna Sorensen, and then held off a late Oregon Tech charge to claim the finale 8-6.
Owen was at it again with another leadoff home run to put Corban on the board in the top of the first. Taylor Eilders RBI single made it 2-0.
Sullivan doubled in Virtue, who led off the game for the Owls with a single, cutting Tech’s deficit in half, 2-1.
Oregon Tech took their only lead of game two with a pair of runs in the fourth. The Owls tied it on a throwing error, while Shrum drove in Karly LeVeque on a single to move up 3-2.
Corban regained the lead with two runs in the fifth, while a four-run sixth extended Corban’s advantage to 8-3.
Oregon Tech didn’t go down without a fight. With runners on first and third and one out in the bottom of the seventh, Cassidy Hoglund launched her third home run of the season, a three-run shot, cutting Tech’s deficit to 8-6. A walk put the winning run at the plate for Tech, but a ground out would end the game by the same 8-6 score.
Silvius recorded two hits for the Owls with Sullivan adding a double. Six other Owls singled in the loss. Hoglund drove in three runs on her homer, with Shrum and Sullivan driving in a run each.
Eilders finished with three hits with Owen and Dorcas adding a pair each. Sorensen drove in three, on her home run, with Dorcas tallying two RBI and one each coming from Owen and Eilders. Danielle Horne earned the win with Holsinger recording her first save of the season.