KEIZER, Ore. – The Corban University baseball team dropped a pair of contests to (RV) Lewis-Clark State College on Saturday, falling in game one by a 8-1 tally and stumbling in game two by a 6-4 final score. The home run proved costly to the Navy and Gold pitching staff, as LCSC notched five long balls between the two contests.
The deep flies came early and often, as LCSC blasted a pair of solo home runs in the top of the first to take an early 2-0 lead in game one. Thomas Lampkin led off the game with a booming shot to left, and Zach Needham hooked one over the right field fence just two batters later.
A bases-loaded walk forced in another run for LCSC in the third, then a couple of mental miscues from the Corban defense allowed a fifth run to cross the plate two innings afterwards.
Josh Ebert would bring home the Navy and Gold's first and only run of the game in the fifth, lacing a two-out RBI single up the middle to drive in Jared Bell.
Lewis-Clark State would pad its lead with four runs in the ninth—two of which came via a two-run homer from Kyle Callaghan—but it was all just added comfort for LCSC's two pitchers, Justin Hammergren and Andrew Najeeb-Brush. The two arms were masterful, combining to allow just four hits and one run in the victory.
Despite a strong effort from the southpaw Hammergren, Najeeb-Brush was credited with the win due to the LCSC starter failing to make it through five innings of work.
Game two began in the exact same way as game one, with the LCSC leadoff man—this time, AJ Davis—driving one over the left field fence.
Corban had a prime chance to respond in the bottom of the third, sending cleanup hitter Brendan Yawn to the plate with two outs and no empty bases. Yawn wrapped one into the six-hole, but an impressive diving stab and throw from Callaghan prevented the Navy and Gold from scoring any runs in the golden opportunity.
An RBI sac fly from Tanner Marsh helped the Navy and Gold even the score in the fourth, but Corban assuredly would've like to have come away with more in the frame, as the LCSC staff managed to strand the bases loaded for the second-consecutive inning.
Zach Needham helped LCSC reclaim the lead in the sixth with a booming solo blast to right center, the first of four-straight run-scoring innings for the squad.
Corban would muster a comeback attempt in the ninth, rallying for three runs in the bottom of the ninth. Two of those runs came courtesy of a double from Maxwell Jeffrey (2-for-4, BB, two RBIs), who would finish the game as the only member of the Corban lineup with multiple hits. In the end, however, LCSC reliever Joe Riley was able to retire the potential tying run at home plate to secure the win.
Corban (10-19-1, 8-8 NAIA West) will have another opportunity against Lewis-Clark State (18-11-1, 10-6 NAIA West) tomorrow, with the teams scheduled to play two more at Volcanoes Stadium. First pitch for game one is slated for 11 a.m.