BOX SCORES - NW CHRISTIAN 15, CORBAN 4 (GM. #1) | CORBAN 8, NW CHRISTIAN 0 (GM. #2)

Junior Laura Santie (pictured with ball) went a combined 4-for-6 at the plate, including her first home run of the season, as Corban split an afternoon double header with the Beacons of Northwest Christian. (Photo courtesy of Josh Randolph)

SALEM, Ore. - Junior Laura Santie (Seattle, Wash.) went a combined 4-for-6 with one home run and four runs batted in, as Corban's softball team earned a double header split with future Cascade Collegiate Conference member Northwest Christian, 4-15 & 8-0, on Friday at Warrior Field.

Santie, who came into the double header hitting .145 on the season, exploded with a perfect 3-for-3 performance in the night cap that included her first home run of the season -- a lead-off shot in the 4th inning.

Neither team scored for the first three-plus inning before Santie put Corban on the board first with her third career bases-clearing hit in the bottom of the fourth inning.

In the fifth inning, the host Warriors exploded for six runs on four hits, as sophomore Rachel Steigleman (Eugene, Ore.) and freshman Jessica Pierce (Kennewick, Wash.) each reached bases via errors to lead off the inning. Junior Lindsay Batey (Aloha, Ore.) then singled up the middle, allowing Steigleman to score. The very next batter -- junior Jennifer Childers (Winston, Ore.) -- walked to load the bases before Santie roped a 2-run single down the left field line, which allowed both Pierce and Batey to score. Freshman Nicole Leupitz (Keizer, Ore.) and sophomore Megan Gaylord (Portland, Ore.) recorded the final three Warrior RBIs with a pair of singles en route to Corban extending its lead to seven runs (7-0) after five innings.

In the sixth inning, Pierce led off with a triple down the right field line before freshman Siriana Guest (Salem, Ore.) lifted a sacrifice fly to right field that allowed Pierce to score the game-ending run. For the first time all season, Corban took advantage of the 8-run mercy rule with the Warriors holding an eight-run advantage after five complete innings were in the books.

Junior pitcher Kelley Seaton (Salem, Ore.) went the distance for Corban, as the right-hander allowed a mere five hits over 6.0 innings of work with a game-high tying two K's en route to securing her third win of the season.

In the opener, Corban got on the board first with single runs in the second and third innings thanks to RBI singles by Pierce and Santie.

In the top of the fourth inning, Northwest Christian put a run on the board via a sacrifice fly before Steigleman put Corban up by two runs (3-1) with her second home run of the season.

Unfortunately, Northwest Christian scored six runs in the 5th inning, one in the 6th inning, and seven runs in the 7th inning to put the game out of reach.

Sophomore starter Erin Sailors (Anchorage, Alaska) went the first 6.1 innings and struck out a game-high 4 Beacon batters to up her team-lead in K's to 112 before handing the ball over to sophomore reliever Karlee Sisler (Corvallis, Ore.) for the final two outs.

On the afternoon, Santie, Pierce, and Gaylord led all Corban hitters with a combined four hits each, while Steigleman and Batey each collected a pair of hits off Northwest Christian pitching.

For Northwest Christian, Heather Cordell and Tauna Nelson each collected a combined three hits, while Kasey Sconce, Bethany McAlister, and Amy Croll each had two hits off Warrior pitching. In the circle, Megan McLearn picked up the win in Game #1, while Jillian Wyatt earned the save after pitching three effective innings. In the night cap, Heather Cordell went the first three-plus innings for the Beacons and gave up the Warriors' first run en route to earning the loss before Wyatt pitched the final 2.1 innings.

With the double header split, Corban now finds themselves at 8-32-1 overall with two games remaining in the regular season. Meanwhile, Northwest Christian is now 16-26 overall. The Warriors will conclude the regular season on Friday, May 4th, with an afternoon double header against the Cavaliers of Concordia on Warrior Field beginning at 2:00 p.m.