Two Oregon Baseball Players of the Year Sign with Corban

Steven Blum, an infielder/outfielder from West Salem High School, is batting .576 with eight home runs, 12 doubles, one triple, and 47 runs batted in.

West Salem senior Steven Blum signed a letter of intent to play for first-year head coach Nate Mayben and the Warriors in 2008. Photo: Corban Athletics

SALEM, Ore. - Corban College second-year head coach Nate Mayben announced Monday, the signing of five players for the 2008 season, including West Salem senior and Central Valley Conference Player of the Year Steven Blum and Lebanon senior and Mid-Willamette Conference Player of the Year Nate Hiebert.

Along with Blum and Hiebert, Mayben also announced the signing of another trio of high school seniors -- Chris Nordstrom, Kyle Taylor, and Coy Bratton.

Blum, who was recently named Central Valley Conference Player of the Year, comes to Corban following an outstanding high school career at nearby West Salem High School.

On Sunday, Blum was named to the 1st team All-Central Valley Conference Team and recently was nominated for 1st team all-state honors following a senior season in which the 5-foot-11 infielder/outfielder is batting .576 with eight home runs, 12 doubles, one triple, and 47 runs batted in.

As a junior, Blum was named 6A all-state honorable mention as an outfielder while helping lead the Titans to a runner-up finish at the state tournament.

Earlier this season, Blum did what many players hope to accomplish in a career, as he hit for the cycle thanks to a perfect 6-for-6 performance with two doubles, a triple, two home runs, and 12 runs batted in in a 28-2 win over cross-town rival Sprague High School.

Hiebert, the 2007 Mid-Willamette Conference Player of the Year as a shortstop, comes to the Capitol City following an amazing high school career at Lebanon High School where he was named 1st Team All-Mid-Willamette Conference last week and was recently nominated for 1st team all-state honors this week.

The 5-foot-11 senior has recorded a batting average of .495 so far this season, as well as stepping on the mound and hurling 49.0 innings with 57 strikeouts to go along with his 1.41 Earned Run Average.

As a junior, Hiebert was named 2nd team all-league as an infielder and earned 1st team all-state honors as a pitcher.

Nordstrom arrives at Corban after playing catcher for Lebanon High School where he has been solid behind the plate this season thanks to throwing out 14-out-of-21 attempted base runners.

At the plate, the 5-foot-8 senior has recorded a batting average of .298 with eight doubles.

Blum, Hiebert, and Nordstrom were invited to play in the annual state Metro All-Star Game to be played in mid-June in The Dalles.

Taylor, who is the younger brother of current Warrior Rondie Taylor, is finishing up his high school career at Clackamas High School.

The 6-foot first baseman/outfielder was named to the All-Three Rivers Conference Team as an outfielder/designated hitter as a senior.

Last season, as a junior, Taylor helped lead the Cavaliers to the Three Rivers Conference tournament, while earning 2nd team all-league honors as a junior.

Along with his baseball achievements, Taylor has excelled on the football field being named Three Rivers Conference Defensive Player of the Year and earning 1st team all-league honors as a senior, while making 2nd team all-league as a junior.

Bratton, who is the lone non-Oregonian, comes to Corban following his high school career at West High School in Tracy, California.

The 6-foot-2 utility/pitcher has recorded at least one hit in all 28 games played this season for the Bulldogs, as Bratton is hitting over .300 as a senior.

Last season, as a junior, Bratton recorded a batting average of .395 to go along with his Scholar-Athlete of the Year award that he earned as a 2004 freshman.

This is the second class of recruits that Mayben has signed in his tenure as head coach of the Warriors, as the former Warrior all-conference player inked five players to letters of intent prior to the 2007 season.

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