Braun pitches gem, Warriors drop pair to T-birds

April 22, 2006

BOX SCORES - GAME #1 | GAME #2

Freshman Jason Braun went 8.0 solid innings of 3-hit shutout ball against the nation's 5th ranked British Columbia, but came away with a no-decision

VANCOUVER, B.C. – Freshman Jason Braun (Dallas, Ore.) fired a 3-hit shutout over eight innings, but Corban’s baseball team fell upon some hard-luck late and ended the day dropping two straight to the NAIA’s No. 5-ranked British Columbia, 6-0 & 4-3, in Region I baseball action at Nat Bailey Stadium.

In the nightcap, the Warriors claimed a 3-0 lead heading into the final stanza, as Braun held the regional champions in check with 1-hit pitching through the first five innings. The rookie right-hander struck out two and left eight UBC runners stranded through eight innings before giving way to a trio of relievers who finished the 9th for the Warriors.

In the 9th, the Clan’s Connor Janes laid down a bunt to lead off the inning and substitute Richard Smythe promptly took junior reliever Zeke Clayton (Myrtle Creek, Ore.) deep to left field to cut the margin to one run. For Smythe, one of 13 UBC seniors honored before the game, it was his first home run of the season and just the second of his university career.

After a Tyler Willson pop up, Davey Wallace singled to center field, and Mark Capone stroked a single through the right side to put runners of the corners and chase Clayton, who had come on to start the ninth after eight strong innings from Braun. Sophomore right-hander Derek Stokes (Anchorage, Alaska) entered, but couldn’t find the strike zone, walking the bases loaded, then issuing a free pass to Johnny Yiu to force in the tying run. Junior Bryan Bernard (Salem, Ore.) came on to try his luck, but after getting Steve Bell-Irving to fly out, he got behind on Ian Prescott and hit the Thunderbirds catcher to score Capone for the win.

Sophomores Scott Flux (Salem, Ore.) and Ryan Porter (Keizer, Ore.) had the Warriors out to a 2-0 lead with RBI doubles in the first inning. Corban expanded their lead to 3-0 in the second when junior Ryan Heil (Medford, Ore.) singled, stole second, advanced on a ground out and scored on a wild pitch.

Clayton (0-3) was charged with the loss, while Andrew LaFleur (4-0) threw three hitless innings of relief for UBC to earn the victory. Dave Pasquali started and allowed three runs off seven hits through six.

In the early game, the T-Birds jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the second and rolled to their fifth shutout win in their last eight home games. Shawn Schaefer, Brad Ashman (4-2) and Brendan Rolfe combined for a two-hitter with Ashman moving to within one victory of tying Jeff Francis’ career mark of 25. Junior starter Brett Timmerman (Medford, Ore.) was tagged with the loss for Corban. Capone was 2-for-3 with two RBIs for UBC.