SALEM, Ore. – In a tale of two very different contests, the No. 24-ranked Corban University softball team walked away with a pair of valuable wins over No. 8 Oregon Tech on Saturday afternoon.
In a game-one slugfest, the Warriors outlasted the Owls for a 10-8 triumph. Then, in the non-conference finale, Kaylee Brown tossed a complete-game shutout to lift the squad to a 1-0 victory.
With the wins, Corban claims a crucial series win against an elite Cascade Collegiate Conference (CCC) foe.
Sarah Abramson was in the circle again for the Owls in game one Saturday, coming off a complete-game win in the series opener on the day before.
The Warriors mustered just three hits in their first matchup with the standout hurler, but they managed to get to her early in this morning's rematch.
Ivey Uppinghouse lit the fire, putting Corban on the board with her first collegiate homer, a two-run blast to left in the second. Just moments later, Megan Rybar went back-to-back with Uppinghouse, launching a solo shot to center.
After an RBI single from Sam Woodley, Kayla Bailey continued the long-ball trend, crushing a three-run homer to open the floodgates.
In total, the Navy and Gold hit four round-trippers in the win, with Mariah Hyre sending her second homer in as many games in the bottom of the fifth.
Corban took a 10-4 lead into the final frame of the game, but the pesky Owls refused to go quietly in their final at-bats. After singles from Brianna Griffiths and Shelby Hotchkiss led to four runs, Sarah Probasco was able to induce a groundout from Olivia Lethlean to seal to the CCC series win.
Ally Crakes earned the victory in the circle for the Warriors, surrendering just two runs in her four innings of work.
In her first start as a member of the Warriors, Brown was magnificent in game two. Both her and her counterpart—Oregon Tech's Lilly Poe—blanked opposing hitters through the first four frames.
The lone run scored by the Navy and Gold off Poe was unearned, as Sam Woodley crossed on a fielding error from Neenah Pangilinan.
That would prove to be all Brown would need, however, as she surrendered just three hits in the dominating display.
The Warriors (5-5, 2-1 CCC) will return to action next weekend, traveling north to take on Northwest University in a four-game road set. First pitch for Friday's doubleheader is slated for 12 p.m., while Saturday's games are scheduled for a 1 p.m. start.