CALDWELL, Idaho –
Zach Draper took a shutout into the eighth inning of Game 1 for a College of Idaho win, but Corban University returned the favor in the night cap, limiting the Yotes to just five hits to salvage a doubleheader split at Wolfe Field.
The Coyotes (26-9, 14-4 NAIA West North) earned an 8-4 victory in the early game, with Corban piecing together a 3-1 victory in Game 2. The loss drops C of I a half game behind Lewis-Clark State in the division standings with 18 games left in the regular-season.
Draper was dominant through seven innings, limiting the Warriors (12-18, 8-9) to just three hits and striking out eight men – throwing 72 of 82 pitches for strikes.
C of I opened the scoring in the second, as
Dalton Ridgway bunted himself aboard, stole second and third, and scored on a
Jake Bowman sacrifice fly.
The Yotes capitalized on Corban miscues to break the game open – scoring three times in the fourth on only one hit.
Mitch Skaggs led off with a hit by pitch and
Cole Mansanarez followed with a single. Ridgway dropped down a perfect sacrifice bunt, with the Warriors infield throwing the ball down the right field line – allowing Skaggs to score. A wild pitch plated Mansanarez, with Ridgway scoring on a
Bobby Wright sacrifice fly to extend the lead to 4-0.
An inning later, C of I batted around – with Mansanarez doubling home a pair, Ridgway singling home a run, with a four run scoring when
Jake Bowman was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded.
Corban cut the deficit in half in the eighth – taking advantage of three of C of I's season-high five errors – but Draper got Zach Penrod to ground into a fielders' choice to get out of the inning and Ridgway got the final three outs to close the win.
Draper allowed just two earned runs and struck out eight to win his NAIA West leading eighth game of 2016. Mansanarez was 3-for-4 with two doubles and two RBI and Ridgway went 3-for-3 in the victory.
Jalen Garcia and Benjamin Liogon had two hits for the Warriors, with Connor Mattison allowing eight runs in four-plus innings of work.
Game 2 was dominated by the Warriors arms, as Caleb Henry threw five innings of shutout ball, with Daniel Aranda getting the final 12 outs for his second save of the year. The duo limited C of I to just five hits and did not allow a runner to third base until the ninth inning.
Garcia gave Corban a 1-0 lead in the fifth inning, singling home Davis Alderman, who opened the frame with a double off the left field wall. A Penrod RBI single in the sixth doubled the lead, with a Jarrett Thoren RBI single in the seventh making it 3-0.
The Yotes tried a late inning rally, as Skaggs led off the ninth with a double and scored on a Mananarez RBI single. However, a line out and a double play ball, one of three induced by the Warriors in Game 2, closed the game.
Alderman and Garcia each had two hits for the Warriors, with Henry allowing just three hits and fanning five and Aranda allowing just two hits and striking out two in the victory.
Skaggs was 2-for-4 for the Yotes, as the bottom five positions in the order went a combined 0-for-13 in the loss.
Jake Eddy allowed two runs on five hits, striking out five for C of I.
The series concludes tomorrow at 11 a.m. with a doubleheader.
