KEIZER, Ore. – The Corban University baseball team battled the Warriors of Lewis-Clark State College in two bouts on Saturday afternoon at Volcanoes Stadium in Keizer, Ore. The Navy and Gold showed up offensively in game one, scoring 14 runs, but were unable to find a victory. Corban fell by a 19-14 tally in 10 innings in game one, while they dropped game two 12-0 after eight.
Pitching was non-existent in game one, as both Cascade Collegiate Conference (CCC) pitcher of the year candidate Tallon Thomason and Corban starter Jackson Arnsdorf failed to reach the fifth inning in their starts. Every pitcher that stepped foot on the mound in the game—besides Warrior reliever Jacob Bowser—allowed at least a single run to be tallied while they were on the hill.
If the game had been split into thirds, Corban dominated the middle third of the battle, as they allowed just a single run from the fourth through the seventh innings. They had trailed 5-4 through three full innings, and by the end of the seventh stanza, they held a commanding 13-6 advantage.
Unfortunately for the Navy and Gold, everything unraveled in the eighth inning for Corban, as they allowed eight runs to score, briefly handing the lead to LC State before tying the game back up in the bottom half.
Each team was retired in order in the ninth, which sent the game to extra innings, where the LC State Warriors pulled away with a five-run tenth. The Navy and Gold were then retired in order in the bottom of the tenth to give the No.7-ranked Warriors the triumph.
Game two was all LC, as the Navy and Gold could not solve starting pitcher Eric Chavarria or relief pitcher Lucas Gregory, who shut them down for all eight innings. Gregory struck out all five batters that he faced in his appearance. The pair of hurlers held the Corban offense to just three hits in the eight innings that the game lasted.
While Corban struggled offensively, LC State continued to sizzle, as they scored 12 runs. They were aided by 14 hits and four Corban miscues.
Corban did get a strong offensive performance from Nate Cantonwine, who mashed LC pitching in game one with a 4-for-5 showing. He drove a three-run blast to right-center field, which helped Corban build their lead.
LC State's Brock Ephan had another huge day at the dish, as he followed up his 3-for-4 day on Friday with two more three-hit games on day two of the series. His 6-for-10, HR, 5 RBI stat line paced the visiting Warriors in their two victories on Saturday.
With the victories today, Lewis-Clark State has clinched the CCC regular season championship, and has scored 10 runs or more in 12 straight games.
The Warriors (11-24, 10-12 CCC) will face the LC State squad one more time tomorrow at noon at Volcanoes Stadium, hoping to close out the series with a win over the CCC champs.