Click the 'Play Button' on the photo above for video highlights. (Photo Credit: Doug Pfeiler)
REDDING, Calif. – The Corban University softball team swept William Jessup University (WJU) on Saturday in two games before then registering its second upset win over No. 6-ranked Simpson University in as many days, making it eight-straight victories to start the 2017 campaign – the best start in program history. Corban downed WJU 6-0 in the opener and 6-1 in the second game before then taking down Simpson 8-2 in the nightcap.
Click the 'Play Button' on the photo above for video highlights.
"I am incredibly proud of how hard my team worked today," said Corban head coach Abigail Farler. "They really understand what it means to have each other's backs in battle. We needed our entire team today to get these three wins, and everyone came ready to contribute."
After having the games get pushed back in start time by over two hours due to rain early in the day, Sabrina Boyd set the tone in the first inning of the first game for the Warriors, getting out of a bases-loaded no-outs jam without giving up a run to William Jessup.
Corban then scored two in the bottom of the first on a pair of RBI doubles from Jessie Isham and Raimee Sluder. Sluder ripped an RBI single in the third to make it 3-0, and then Isham blasted a two-RBI double to right field in the sixth to make it 5-0. Iris Rodriguez added an RBI single through the right side for good measure en route to the dominant 6-0 win over William Jessup.
In the triumph, both Sluder and Taylor Eilders finished with three hits apiece, while Isham recorded two hits, three RBI, and two runs scored.
Boyd earned the win by throwing a complete game shutout, scattering nine hits while striking out three.
In game two, it was more dominating pitching from the Navy and Gold, as Allie Mendez threw seven innings while allowing just one unearned run and scattering five hits in the five-run triumph. A number of Warriors contributed in the second win of the day over WJU, but it was Eilders that came up with the biggest hit of the contest, sizzling a bases-loaded bases-clearing triple to seal the victory for the Warriors.
In the third and final game of the day that started after 8 p.m., No. 6-ranked Simpson was out for revenge following its loss to the Warriors the day before. Corban was ready for battle, however, and in the second inning, Corban put six runs on the board, highlighted by another bases-loaded bases-clearing triple from Eilders. Chaleigh Kirkwood, Isham, and Rodriguez all also notched RBI base knocks or groundouts in the inning.
The sixth-ranked Red Hawks scored one run in the third to pull to within five, but Corban immediately answered in the fourth as Rodriguez raked an RBI double to right field to score Maddy Melton, and then again in the sixth, Rodriguez recorded an RBI single to score Melton and extend the lead to 8-1.
Simpson (10-3) would pull one back late, but Boyd was able to work her way out of a jam and seal the deal, earning Corban's eighth win of the young 2017 campaign. Boyd earned her third win of the year, throwing her second-complete game of the day while allowing six hits and just two runs. After the three wins, Boyd and Mendez talked about the victories in an interview:
Rodriguez went 3-for-4 in the win with three RBI, while Eilders and Melton both tallied two hits, with Eilders notching three RBI and Melton scoring three runs.
"Sabrina and Allie did an outstanding job of controlling all three games today with the help of Jessie and Sam behind the plate," said Farler.
Corban (8-0) is scheduled to play Simpson again tomorrow in a doubleheader, beginning at 10 a.m. Stay tuned at CorbanWarriors.com for any updates to the games due to weather.
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