Warriors drop home opener to Wildcats of Linfield

March 14, 2006

BOX SCORE

Senior first baseman Brian Nelson went 3-for-4 at the plate and registered 9 putouts against Linfield. (Photo by Piet van Weel)

SALEM, Ore. – Senior Brian Nelson (Lebanon, Ore.) went 3-for-4 with 1 run scored, but it was not enough as Corban’s baseball team dropped its home opener to NCAA Division III member Linfield, 6-3, at Warrior Field.

Junior starting pitcher Scott Fitchett (Sandpoint, Idaho) fell victim to three 1st inning errors that led to three Wildcat runs.  Linfield’s Ty Stanley led off the game with a single to the pitcher before left fielder Johny Anderson forced Corban into its first error on a grounder to second.  The flood gates opened after that play, as a hit-by-pitch and two more errors helped three Wildcat runners cross the plate in the opening inning.

Corban got on the board in the 2nd inning when senior Jesse Gaylord (Portland, Ore.) singled and eventually scored on a throwing error by Linfield’s first baseman that caused the catcher’s foot to come off the plate.

In the next inning, Corban loaded the bases on back-to-back-to-back singles before Gaylord grounded out to first scoring Nelson.  With runners on second and third, junior Brett Timmerman (Medford, Ore.) grounded out to short allowing junior Jeremy Frantz (Medford, Ore.) to score the game’s tying run.

After three scoreless innings, Linfield took the lead for good when Anderson grounded out to second scoring Drew Van Cleave from third.

The visiting Wildcats tacked on two more runs via a Kevin Mills’ RBI single to short in the 7th and a John Dailey home run to left in the 9th inning.

Frantz and junior Ryan Heil (Medford, Ore.) each recorded 2 hits, while Gaylord, Timmerman, sophomore Darren Johnson (Vancouver, Wash.), and junior Kyle Myers (Canyon City, Ore.) added a hit each.

Fitchett pitched the first 4.0 innings for Corban before sophomore Derek Stokes (Anchorage, Alaska), who suffered the loss, took the ball for the 5th and 6th inning.  Second-year head coach Larry Casian also pitched senior Josh Gaylord (Portland, Ore.), junior Bryan Bernard (Salem, Ore.), and junior Zeke Clayton (Myrtle Creek, Ore.) an inning each.

Stanley led Linfield with 3 hits, while Brian Baker collected a pair of hits and five other Wildcats registered 1 hit each.  Brian Clark pitched the 5th and 6th innings to pick up the win, as Kyffin Marcum pitched the 9th to earn the save.

With the loss, Corban falls to 4-6 overall, while Linfield improves to 8-6 overall.  The Warriors will return to action on Wednesday, March 15th, when they face NCAA Division III member George Fox beginning at 2:00 p.m. at Warrior Field.