LA GRANDE, Ore. – Eastern Oregon baseball picked up the Cascade Collegiate Conference doubleheader sweep on Friday, topping Corban 7-5 in game one and rolling to a 14-3 victory in seven innings in the nightcap at Optimist Field.
Game One: Eastern Oregon 7, Corban 5
The Mountaineers plated four runs in the second inning and added late insurance in the seventh to secure the series opener. After falling behind 1-0 in the first, EOU responded with a rally that included RBI singles from Carson Gerding, Tyler Balkenbush, and Rogelio Gonzales. An error by Corban allowed another run to score, giving EOU a 4-1 lead.
Mario Landeros launched a solo homer in the third to extend the advantage to 5-1, but Corban battled back. The Warriors scored three in the fifth, highlighted by Peyton Rickard's two-run single and an RBI groundout by Noah Owens. A fielding error allowed the tying run to score in the sixth, knotting the game at 5-5.
Eastern Oregon took the lead for good in the seventh. Parker Cumberland ripped an RBI double and then scored on a Trevor Baker double to make it 7-5. Alex Farnsworth earned his first win of the season, recording the final 10 outs while throwing two strikeouts across 3.1 innings.
Game Two: Eastern Oregon 14, Corban 3 (7 innings)
Eastern Oregon exploded for seven runs in the fifth inning and 14 total on 14 hits in the nightcap to complete the sweep in a run-rule shortened contest.
Gerding ignited the scoring with a triple in the second and came home on a bases-loaded hit-by-pitch to Cumberland. Landeros added a bases-loaded walk later in the frame to put EOU ahead 2-0. In the third, Gerding crushed a two-run homer to center, and Cumberland followed with an RBI double to make it 5-1.
After Corban pulled within 5-3, Eastern Oregon put the game away in the fifth. Justin Frederick delivered an RBI single, Landeros cracked a two-run double, Mason Van Arsdall added a sac fly, and Greyson McDaniel drove in another to cap a seven-run inning. Landeros finished the day 3-for-4 with five RBIs and two doubles.
Will Seslar went the distance on the mound, tossing a complete game with five hits allowed, four strikeouts, and just two earned runs.
The Mountaineers and Warriors will conclude the series with tomorrow's doubleheader at Optimist Field, beginning at 11:00 a.m.
