Corban defeated Oregon Tech four times this weekend to earn a series sweep.
KEIZER, Ore. – The Warrior Baseball team sent their seniors out in fashion on Saturday, winning twice to complete a series sweep of Oregon Tech.
In two close games, Corban managed to come out ahead in each of them, winning late in game one and then holding on for the win in the nightcap.
Game 1: Corban 2, Oregon Tech 1
The Warriors jumped out ahead early in game one, with Benjamin Liogon (Culiacan, Sinaloa, Mexico) lining an RBI single through the right side to score Landon Frost (Bend, Ore.), who had walked to start the inning.
The Owls fought back with a run in the top of the second frame on a McKinnon Bennett RBI single, and then the bats went silent on both sides until the eighth inning when Daniel Freiburger (Rupert, Idaho) singled for Corban, stole second base, and scored on a single by Jackson Smith (Salem, Ore.). That run proved to be the difference in the game, as the Warrior bullpen held the Owls scoreless in the ninth to win game one.
Rilyn Lewchuk (Oregon City, Ore.) started the game for the Warriors and threw five innings of one-run ball before being relieved by Daniel Aranda (Lebanon, Ore.), who hurled four scoreless innings to earn the win.
Adam Kandra started for the Owls and threw well, allowing just the two runs in the tough-luck complete-game loss.
Liogon, Freiburger, and Braden Wolgamott (Bellevue, Wash.) all tallied two hits for Corban, while Danny Topps, Evan Johnson, Ryan Grant, and Louis Wolf all notched two hits of their own.
Game 2: Corban 4, Oregon Tech 3
In game two, it was Oregon Tech who got on the board first, scoring twice on a line drive home run off the bat of Tyler Bennett in the top of the third frame.
Corban bounced back in the bottom of the fourth inning, using two hits, a walk, and two wild pitches to knot the game at two apiece.
The Warriors added two more runs in the sixth on back-to-back RBI singles by Zach Penrod (Nampa, Idaho) and Hayden Calvert (Canberra, Australia) to make it a 4-2 game, and that would be enough, as the Owls were unable to come back from the two-run deficit.
Oregon Tech picked up another run in the seventh inning on a solo home run by Matthew Moorehead, who now has nine on the season, but that would be all the Owls would pick up.
Oregon Tech had an opportunity to tie the game in the top of the ninth inning, notching consecutive hits to put runners on first and third with nobody out. Jarett Thoren (Nampa, Idaho) came on in relief, however, and did exactly what he needed to do, striking out the Owl's leading hitter and then inducing a 4-6-3 double play to end the game and secure the series sweep. For Thoren, it was his fifth save of the season.
With the win, Corban (24-21, 19-12 NAIA West) has now won ten straight games – the school record is 11.
Thomas Kerr (Olympia, Wash.) started the game for the Warriors and earned the win, allowing two runs (both earned) in six innings. Adam Shumka (White Rock, B.C.), Daniel Gober (Thousand Oaks, Calif.), and Thoren each threw scoreless innings in relief.
Michael McCall allowed four runs (all earned) in six innings of work and was charged with the loss. Josh Havig hurled two scoreless innings in relief of McCall.
Penrod racked up three hits for Corban, and Calvert tallied two more. Tyler Bennett led Oregon Tech with two hits in the game.
The Warriors will travel to Lewiston, Idaho to take on fifth-ranked Lewis-Clark State College in the final series of the regular season on April 29-May 1. The first game, on April 29, is scheduled to begin at 5 P.M.