KEIZER, Ore. – A six-run seventh inning for the visiting Bearcats of NCAA DIII Willamette University was more than enough for the first of three midweek rivalry matchups for the Corban University Baseball team, as Willamette broke a 3-3 tie late in the Tuesday night contest to close out a 9-6 non-conference win and hand the Warriors their thirteenth-consecutive loss heading into their penultimate Cascade Collegiate Conference (CCC) weekend on their home field.
"Frustrating loss tonight, as we are putting a lot of pressure on ourselves to get off this losing streak and we are only making it worse," Corban head coach Ryan Harris explained shortly after their crosstown rivalry matchup. "We need to get back to trusting one another to play the game and go play it the way we designed it to be this fall and in early spring play. We have UBC coming to town this weekend, and we've got to find a way to flip the page."
The first five innings represented scratch baseball for the two crosstown rivals in the state capital, as both the Warriors (6-18) and Bearcats (5-8) each tallied a trio of one-run innings to enter the sixth frame in a 3-all draw. While Willamette had found single runs via a leadoff home run, sacrifice fly, and RBI single, Corban made the most of taking advantage of the Bearcats' miscues by scoring on a wild pitch, an RBI ground out, and a sacrifice fly of their own in half the amount of hits to that point in the ballgame.
However, seven of the first right Bearcats to come to the plate in the top of the seventh would find themselves aboard and lead to four runs before an RBI single and wild pitch resulted in a 9-3 lead for Willamette. The Navy and Gold earned a run back in their own offensive half of the seventh and two more in the eighth, but the six runs of damage that crossed home plate were enough to allow the Bearcats to hang on for the 9-6 victory.
Seven different Warriors stepped to the mound in their midweek capital city clash, with junior righthander Robert Hayes Jr. and freshman righthander Josh Allen both putting forth the best outings of 2.0 innings with nobody reaching base against the Corban duo. Junior reliever Jackson Young was charged with the loss after allowing four of the six runs that Willamette scored in the seventh frame.
A 4.0 relief appearance from Bearcats' southpaw Matthew Mason where he allowed just three hits and one run with a trio of strikeouts earned him his first win of the season tonight, while closer JD Willis picked up his second save with just one hit allowed in the ninth.
Redshirt junior catcher Joshua Miyazawa stayed hot at the plate today with a 3-for-3 performance, while his courtesy runner and senior Fran Gross scored four of the Warriors' six runs and stole three bags. Junior second baseman Peyton Rickard went 2-for-4 with three RBI and senior third baseman Ryan Clay logged a two-RBI double while drawing three walks and stealing two bases.
A well-rounded outing from Bearcats' third baseman Adam Birt helped propel the visiting team to the midweek victory, as he finished 3-for-5 with two RBI and two runs scored. Three more Willamette starters logged multi-hit outings, including leadoff hitter Tassos Foster who launched a home run on the fifth pitch of the contest.
The Warriors will return to their home turf this upcoming weekend as they're scheduled to host (RV) University of British Columbia (15-9, 10-3) for a four-game series over a three-day window, beginning with a single game on Friday evening at 7pm.
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