CLERMONT, Fla. – While coming from behind in dramatic fashion to defeat LSU-Alexandria in the first game of the day and book a ticket to the championship game of the 2017 NAIA Softball World Series, the Corban University softball team ultimately finished as the national runner-up, marking the best finish of any sports program in school history. Corban ended up losing in the championship game to the Oklahoma City University, 4-1.
Click the 'Play Button' on the photo above for video highlights of Corban's dramatic comeback win over LSU-Alexandria and the trophy ceremony following the championship game.
In Corban University's history, no team from any sport had finished the year inside of the top-10 at an NAIA National Championship competition. The Warrior softball team not only became the first team to break into the top-10, but the Warriors capped off their historic run with the school's first-ever trip to an NAIA National Championship contest.
The first game of the day saw a pitcher's duel, with Allie Mendez tossing for Corban and shutting down the Generals for five innings. In the sixth, however, the Generals recorded a few hits, scoring a pair of runs, forcing the Warriors to bring in Sabrina Boyd in to limit any further damage. Boyd did just that, keeping LSU-Alexandria to just the two runs.
That would prove to be vital, as in the bottom half of the inning, Jessie Isham got things going for Corban with a double to left-center to lead off the inning. Sam Woodley eventually brought her home with an RBI base knock, halving the deficit. A few batters later with a pair of runners on and two outs, Raimee Sluder provided the heroics for Corban, blasting a three-run home run over the left-field wall to put the Warriors in front, 4-2.
In a contest that flipped fortunes in the matter of just 15 minutes, Boyd then closed the door on the Generals, and it was Taylor Eilders who made a catch on a fly ball in center field and turned a double-play by throwing the runner out at first to end the game.
Seven different players recorded hits for the Navy and Gold in the dramatic victory, and it was Paige Martin as the only player with two for Corban.
In the NAIA Title game, the Warriors knew they would need to win twice in order to capture the championship in the double-elimination tournament. Just as in the first time the two teams met just a couple of days ago, the Stars jumped in front in the first frame with a pair of runs to nab a quick 2-0 advantage.
Corban's pitching settled in after that, and the Warrior offense starting clicking as well, as after two innings, Corban had five hits. Unfortunately for the Warriors, the clutch hits did not come at the key moments, and Corban left the bases loaded and multiple runners on base on a pair of occasions.
OCU eventually extended the lead to 3-0 with a run in the fifth, but Woodley responded for the Warriors, ripping an RBI base knock to score Isham and keep Corban within touching distance in the bottom half of the inning.
The Stars added a run in the seventh, however, and Corban was unable to complete the comeback in its final at-bat, resulting in the 4-1 triumph for OCU.
The NAIA Championship for OCU is its second in as many years and 10th NAIA softball title in program history.
"We fought hard and played a great game today to end our season on," said Corban head coach Abigail Farler. "Putting up 10 hits today against OCU was great and gave us an opportunity to compete. In the end, I am extremely proud of this entire group. They accomplished so much in one year and really played as a team the entire season. I think they represented Corban University extremely well, playing with class and heart."
For their efforts throughout the 2017 NAIA World Series, Corban's Raimee Sluder, Sabrina Boyd, and Jessie Isham all were named to the 2017 All-World Series Team.
OCU's pitcher, Georgia Wall, collected the World Series Most Valuable Player honor for the second year in a row, posting a 0.25 ERA in 28 innings of work, breaking the previous tournament record held by the Stars in 2012 of 0.32. Wall went the distance in all four games, recording two shutouts.
Corban totaled 10 hits against Wall in the championship game, the most hits Wall gave up all tournament long and the most she had given up in her 37 prior starts.
"Our seniors did a phenomenal job this year leading this team by example, accepting change and buying in," said Farler. "These seniors have impacted Corban Softball forever, and hopefully Corban Softball has had a life-changing impact on them. Thank you to all of our fans and supporters for having our backs this season. We truly appreciate everyone who contributed to our record-setting, memorable season."
Corban finishes the year with a school record 46 wins (46-13), playing over the course of five different months for the first time ever (February, March, April, May, June). On top of numerous school records being set across many individual categories, this Warrior Softball team will always be remembered and have left their mark in the record books as the best softball team in program history.
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