Click the 'Play Button' for video highlights of Corban Softball's sweep of Willamette. (Photo Credit: Doug Pfeiler)
SALEM, Ore. – Just four games into the 2017 season, it is clear that the Corban University softball team is ready to hit the ball while also playing solid defense, as on Sunday, the Warriors swept cross-town rival Willamette University in dominant fashion. After winning the opener, 9-4, the Warriors then cruised to a 7-2 victory in the nightcap to finish off their fourth win of the weekend.
Click the 'Play Button' on the photo above for video highlights from the two wins.
"It was great to come out again and produce as many hits as we did today," said Corban head coach Abigail Farler. "We saw areas that we will continue to clean up as we prepare to go into conference play, but these games were a great opportunity for us to see how we would perform in live situations."
In the two games on Sunday, Corban never trailed, and in the weekend's four games, the Warriors outscored their opponents, 34-12.
Taylor Eilders didn't waste any time in getting the Warriors on the board, as in the top of the first inning, she blasted the first pitch of the game over the fence for her first home run of the year, giving the Warriors the early lead. Corban would add three more in the inning to take a commanding 4-0 advantage.
Willamette inched back into the game on a pair of home runs, but in the fourth inning, the Warriors added one on to regain a two-run cushion. Then in the fifth, Jessie Isham launched her third home run of the young season over the center field wall, putting Corban up 6-3.
The Warriors eventually added a few more runs late on in the game en route to the five-run triumph. Eilders finished the game with three hits and three RBI, while Isham tallied two hits and two runs scored with one RBI. In addition, Allie Mendez went 2-for-3 at the dish with one RBI and one run scored.
Mendez also proved to be effective in the circle, throwing six innings while dispersing six hits and allowing four runs, only three of which were earned. In addition, Kaylee Graney-Patterson threw the final inning, allowing no hits and no runs.
In game two, Sabrina Boyd was pitching for the Warriors, and she was feeling it all game long, allowing just two hits over the course of seven innings and no earned runs. She also struck out three in the dominant performance, and all the while, the Warrior bats continued to register big hits.
Corban put two on the board in the first inning, with both Eilders and Isham ripping doubles and then Grace Utto-Galarneau recording an RBI groundout.
The Bearcats once again showed some resiliency, halving the deficit in the second with an unearned run, but then Isham blasted a two RBI single in the third to put the Warriors up 4-1.
From that point on, Corban continued to tack on runs and be aggressive on the base paths, notching five steals as a team en route to earning the team's second-straight sweep.
Isham went 3-for-4 at the plate with four RBI and two runs scored, while Raimee Sluder notched a 2-for-4 showing with one RBI and Maddy Melton also went 2-for-4, and she flashed her leather defensively on a diving catch late in the contest.
"We have worked hard in the offseason to prepare for these first few wins, but we know we will need to continue to clean up all aspects of our game moving forward," said Farler.
Corban (4-0) takes to the road this week when it travels south to California for six games. The Warriors will take on Simpson University four times and William Jessup University twice over the course of Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.