Fitchett & Nelson guide Warriors to split with ‘Yotes

April 28, 2006

BOX SCORES - GAME #1 | GAME #2

Senior Brian Nelson registered his team-leading 6th round-tripper of the season, along with five singles in the last twin bill of his career against the 'Yotes of Albertson

SALEM, Ore. – Junior pitcher Scott Fitchett (Sandpoint, Idaho) collected his second straight victory and senior Brian Nelson (Lebanon, Ore.) went a combined 6-for-7 with 5 RBIs, as Corban’s baseball team picked up a conference double header split, 3-5 & 5-3, with the Coyotes of Albertson College of Idaho today at Warrior Field.

In the opener, the visiting ‘Yotes got on the board first with an opening inning run via an RBI double down the left field line by Casey Oliver that scored Greg Stalling from second.

In the bottom of the inning, sophomore Jamie McGraw (Gaston, Ore.) led off with an infield single and then advanced ninety feet following a throwing error by the ‘Yotes shortstop.  One batter later, Nelson belted his team-leading 6th home run of the season over the left field wall to give the host team a 2-1 lead.

In the 2nd inning, Albertson tied the game at 2-all when Paul Erickson singled to right field, scoring Ren Lombardo from second.

Neither team put another run on the board until the 6th inning when Corban’s freshman reliever Jason Braun (Dallas, Ore.) was tagged for 3 runs (all earned) on 4 hits and suffered the loss.

Corban attempted a come back in the 6th inning when sophomore Darren Johnson (Vancouver, Wash.) singled down the right field line, scoring Nelson and cutting the Albertson lead to 2 runs at 5-3, but could not muster another run off Albertson’s starting pitcher, Carson Taysom.

Taysom shut down the Warrior bats over the final inning to secure his 5th win of the season in complete game fashion, while allowing 3 runs (all earned) on 7 hits and fanning a game-high 5 Corban batters.

Junior starter Brett Timmerman (Medford, Ore.) pitched the first 5.0 innings for Corban, allowing 2 earned runs on 6 hits and struck out 3 Albertson hitters, before Braun went the final 2.0 innings.

In the night cap, Fitchett and Nelson were the highlights, as the 6-foot-3 senior first baseman went a perfect 5-for-5 with 3 runs batted in and the 6-foot-3 right hander went 7.0 innings, allowing 1 earned run on 6 hits.

After three scoreless innings, Albertson put a single run on the board in the 4th via an RBI single through the left side by Drew Cauffman.

Corban quickly came back in its half of the 4th inning and scored two runs on RBI hits by sophomore Ryan Porter (Keizer, Ore.) and Nelson.

Following another two scoreless innings, Corban added to its lead in the 7th with a sacrifice fly by Timmerman following a lead-off single by senior Jesse Gaylord (Portland, Ore.).

In its last at-bat, the Warriors struck for a pair of insurance runs thanks to a 2-run single up the middle by Nelson that plated Porter and McGraw.

In the 9th inning, Albertson got to sophomore reliever Derek Stokes (Anchorage, Alaska) with a 2-run single up the middle by Oliver that scored a pair of ‘Yotes’ runners and cut Corban’s lead to 5-3.  The 5-foot-9 right hander settled down and got the final batter looking to end the game.

Fitchett went seven solid frames for the second straight game en route to picking up his second win of the season, while Stokes earned his third career save.

On the afternoon, Nelson led all players with a 6-for-7 performance, while Porter was 3-for-6 for Corban.  Albertson was paced by Stalling, who went a combined 4-for-7 with a run scored.

With the split, Corban is now 11-27 overall, 6-20 in Region I play. Albertson finds themselves at 29-17 overall, 15-9 in Region I action. The same two teams will square off on Warrior Field on Saturday, April 29th, in a single game beginning at 12:00 p.m.