Mid Valley Reporter

Nineteen Runs Not Enough as Corban Baseball Drops Back Half of Series to No. 3 Lewis-Clark State

A fury of offense to start the day wasn't enough for the Corban University Baseball team (6-18, 1-3), as 19 runs over 18 innings couldn't hold off even more offense from the No. 3-ranked Lewis-Clark State College Warriors (18-4, 3-1), who took the final two games of a four-game Cascade Collegiate Conference series 18-14 and 14-5 at Harris Field.

"Today is obviously a tough result following a big day yesterday," Warriors' Head Coach Ethan Bragg stated earlier this evening. "We had ample opportunities to earn a split or win a series and unfortunately, we just couldn't get things done when we needed to."

Bragg carried on with his analysis by sharing, "We still have an opportunity to clinch a spot in the conference tournament in the coming weeks, and I'm looking forward to continuing towards that goal with our group."

 

Game 1 – LC State 18, Corban 14

Corban's offense kicked off day two against LC State with the same momentum they had leaving day one, as senior catcher Keenan O'Brien kept his slugging percentage on the rise with a leadoff blast over the left centerfield fence, giving the visiting Warriors a 1-0 lead right out of the gate.

However, the Navy and Gold weren't done scoring runs in the very first inning, as the next three batters all drew walks to load the bases, then a double and two-straight singles brought four runners around to score in what has so far been the best opening inning of offense for the program thus far this season.

After Corban chased the LC State starting pitcher from the game after retiring just one batter, the first inning runs continued to pile on as the top of the lineup came back around, as O'Brien earned his second and third RBI of the day already with a single up the middle that scored two runners, pushing the lead to 7-0 in an unprecedent start for the offense against one of the nation's top pitching staffs.

Allowing seven first inning runs clearly awakened the beast in the Lewis-Clark State offense, as it took only two at-bats to cut the Corban lead to 7-2 with a leadoff walk that was followed by a two-run homer from right fielder Nick Seamons. Corban's sophomore starting pitcher Hayden Van Acker was able to limit the damage to just those two runs though, as after another single and walk put him in a no-out, two-runner situation, he was able to induce three-straight outs to escape the nine-run inning for both offenses.

The scoring frenzy carried into the top of the second inning for the Navy and Gold, as junior centerfielder Brad Pellkofer singled and advanced to second on a failed pickoff attempt, then scored the next at-bat on a double to right centerfield off the bat of sophomore designated hitter Scott Artzer, all with two outs in the frame.

LC State mounted their own two-out scoring in the bottom of the second inning as well, tallying three-straight singles that scored a single run to move the margin to 8-3 in favor of Corban.

Defense continued to be optional for both teams into the top of the third inning, as the Navy and Gold tacked on four more runs from the top of their lineup, as O'Brien drew a walk, sophomore third baseman Ryan Clay singled to right field, junior leftfielder Ryan Clay doubled down the rightfield line to score freshman pinch runner Michon Cole, then sophomore second baseman Elijah Maris hit a deep sacrifice fly to left field to score R. Clay. The pinnacle of the inning came in the form of junior right fielder Chris Grayson, who skied a pitch to deep left field and just barely scooted over the fence, leading to a massive 12-3 lead for the visiting squad.

After Van Acker was able to produce the first scoreless half inning of the game, the Corban offense chased the second LC State pitcher from the game in the top of the fourth, extending their scoring streak against the No. 3-ranked Warriors to nine-consecutive innings that stretches from yesterday's game two win. After a leadoff strikeout, the next four Corban batters reached base to score another run and load the bases. Lewis-Clark State got a timely double play to end the threat, but not before the Navy and Gold were able to stretch their lead to double-digits, with the scoreboard now showing 13-3 in favor of the visitors.

LC State's Seamons has been the only consistent hitter today thus far for the home squad, as he exploited a leadoff walk with yet another two-run home run off Van Acker, pushing the deficit to 13-5 in the bottom of the fourth inning. They scored an unearned run later the same inning after a failed pickoff attempt at first base allowed the runner to advance to third, then scored the following at-bat on a groundball out to second base.

Following a pitching change for Corban, LC State slowly ate away at their shortfall on the scoreboard, as a wild pitch allowed the two baserunners to advance to second and third, scoring on the next at-bat via a two-RBI single from first baseman Jakob Marquez. Once the inning was all said and done, the Corban lead had shrunk by half, as the hometown Warriors scored five runs to now trail 13-8 and holding the momentum on their own field.

The Corban scoring streak was snapped in a scoreless top of the fifth inning, and the revitalized LC State offense had finally come alive in game three. Back-to-back base hits to start the bottom of the fifth inning all came in to score on the very next at-bat, as designated hitter Isaiah Thomas belted a three-run bomb over the centerfield wall, catapulting his team into a 13-11 score and putting the home team back into this ballgame.

Redshirt sophomore relief pitcher Trevor Szczepanek was able to keep Lewis-Clark State off the scoreboard the remainder of the fifth inning, but the damage had already been done with eight-straight runs from the home team to suddenly make this a competitive matchup once again.

Back-to-back base hits once again to lead off the bottom of the sixth inning immediately spelled disaster for Szczepanek, as LC State completed the double-digit comeback by scoring each of those baserunners to tie this game at 13-all and effectively resetting the scoreboard with three innings left to play.

Corban was able to retake the lead in the top of the seventh, as a one-out double with two runners on board from Pellkofer allowed K. Clay to score uncontested, but Maris was struck down at the plate to limit the damage to a single run.

The one-run lead hardly lasted any time for Corban, as Marquez smashed a leadoff solo home run to tie the game back up at 14-14.

Though Corban threatened in the top of the eighth with a runner on second base, LC State was able to pitch around it to carry the momentum into their offensive half of the inning, as a leadoff double by Thomas and a passed ball brought him to third base, where he scored from a bases clearing triple two batters later that officially gave Lewis-Clark a 16-14 lead and their first advantage of the day. Following a pitching change, they would go on to score two more runs to now lead 18-14 in a marathon game one, needing just three outs to secure the massive comeback in game three.

Despite loading the bases with just one out, the visiting Warriors couldn't muster the offense needed to bounce back into what was once a commanding lead for the visiting squad, as they drop what seemed like a sure win 18-14 to the No. 3-ranked Warriors.

The 32-run game was lost in the eighth inning by Szczepanek, who dropped his second loss of the season after allowing seven runs off six hits and walking three batters. Van Acker receives a no decision after allowing eight runs off eight hits in 3.2 innings of work, while junior relief pitcher James Arend surrendered three more runs on five hits, only securing a single out in his appearance.

LC State starting pitcher Alec Holmes somehow escapes the loss to earn a no decision after being chased from the ballgame with one out in the top of the first inning, where he allowed seven first inning runs off four hits and three walks. While relief pitcher Drake George was also tagged for multiple runs (six runs on eight hits), relief pitchers Jantzen Lucas and Cameron Smith closed the game with a combined 5.2 innings of four-hit, one-run baseball with eight strikeouts between the two of them. Smith takes home the win by pitching during the lead change.

A total of 37 hits were recorded by both teams in game one, with Pellkofer leading the charge for Corban with four hits in five at-bats, tallying three RBI in the process and scoring a pair of runs. O'Brien continues to swing a heavy bat with another three hits today, including the leadoff home run to start the midday marathon. The Clay brothers each tacked on a pair of hits each, with Kyle securing two RBI and scoring three runs.

Seamons and Thomas were the saviors for the hometown fans in game three of the series, amassing nine hits, seven RBI, and seven runs scored between the two LC State juniors. Second baseman Pu'ukani De Sa stepped up as well to secure three hits in the third spot of the lineup, with two RBI and a run scored as well.

 

Game 2 – LC State 14, Corban 5

Unlike in game one of today's doubleheader, Lewis-Clark State was the first to strike offensively, scoring two runs in the bottom of the second inning thanks to back-to-back base hits to start the inning, followed by a sacrifice flyball and RBI single that scored two runs in the inning.

Right fielder Joe Canty was the next batter to belt a home run in this series, as he led off the bottom of the fourth inning with a solo bomb into left field, the first home run that Corban's junior starting pitcher Nate Martin has allowed all season long in five starts and the first for Canty on his short season.

Corban finally got on the board in the top of the fifth inning, as Maris pulled a double down the left field line with the bases loaded to pull within one run, then Grayson laid down a perfectly place bunt to score K. Clay from third base and tie this ballgame up at 3-3. Pellkofer registered yet another RBI by doubling to score Maris from third base, then he scored his own run on an RBI single to centerfield from Artzer to give Corban a 5-3 lead as they passed the midway point of this contest.

Seamons continued to rip the cover off the baseball to lead off the bottom half of the fifth inning, driving a solo homer into left centerfield to earn a run back and trail 5-4 on their home field. A two-run triple from catcher Jack Sheward with one out in the inning allowed LC State to retake the lead, 6-5 with Martin now struggling to contain their hitters. Canty singled home Sheward's pinch runner Eric Mast on the next at-bat to stretch the lead back to two runs, then scored himself after a single and sacrifice bunt allowed him to come all the way around and lead 8-5 after trailing 5-3 to start the inning.

After chasing Martin from the game, Lewis-Clark State immediately jumped on senior relief pitcher Jaren Childs to start the bottom of the sixth, as Seamons smashed his fourth home run of the day and second in the last two innings by popping a solo drive over the right field fence to increase the lead to four runs, 9-5. Sheward registered his third RBI of the day on a single into left field, sparking three more runs to reach double-digits on the scoreboard for the third game of the four-game series. After the inning was completed, LC State had managed to score five runs in total to produce back-to-back five-run innings to lead 13-5 over Corban.

Lewis-Clark State third baseman Dominic Signorelli kicked off the bottom of the eighth inning with a solo home run over the right field fence, the team's fourth home run of game four. A groundball double play with a runner aboard sent these teams to a ninth inning, with Corban needing to score nine runs if they wanted to continue playing baseball this evening.

The visiting Warriors saw one baserunner reach in their last ditch effort, but a popup to end the ballgame forced Corban to settle for a 3-1 series loss to the No. 3-ranked LC State program.

Martin was lit up for a season-high eight runs off 14 hits in 5.0 innings for only his second loss of the year, striking out five batters and walking no one. Childs allowed five runs on six hits, while sophomore relief pitcher Sam Greenhalgh allowed a solo home run and one extra hit in 2.1 innings of work on the mound.

Lewis-Clark State's starting pitcher Decker Stedman allowed five runs on five hits with three walks and four strikeouts, resulting in a no decision after blowing the lead in the fifth inning. Relief pitcher Jace Taylor earned his first win of the season by pitching 2.0 innings of one-hit, no-run ball while striking out four batters, and fellow relief pitcher Eli Shubert closed out the game with 2.1 innings pitched and allowed only one hit as well.

The Corban offense spread out seven hits over seven different student-athletes, with O'Brien recording a 1-for-3 day and Pellkofer leading the scoring with two more RBI.

Thomas and Canty each recorded four hits for the hometown Warriors, with the latter driving in three RBI. Sheward and shortstop Isaac Haws each also produced three RBI, with Seamon's two RBI coming on his two solo home runs.

Corban Baseball will return home for a single midweek game this upcoming Wednesday, as they'll take advantage of their bye week in CCC play to host the NCAA DIII Boxers of Pacific University (14-5) in a 6pm PDT start time contest.

Original source can be found here