MT. CARMEL, Ill. – Robert Archbold hit his first collegiate home run, and Alex Steinbach added his fifth, but No. 5 Cobras fell to the top-ranked team in Division I, Wabash Valley, 15-5, on Tuesday in Mt. Carmel, Illinois. The Cobras drop to 31-12 with the loss, while the Warriors improve to 45-1.
 
The Cobras briefly held a lead against the Warriors, as Parkland scored twice in the top of the third. Trailing 1-0 on a first-inning home run, the Cobras worked back-to-back one-out walks in the third, and then drew a third with two outs. The bases loaded for Jeremiah Lebron, the Cobra designated hitter hit a ground ball to the left side, forcing an error by the Warrior third baseman, as Archbold and Barnard scored.
 
After a seven-run third inning and two-run fourth inning by Wabash Valley, Archbold and Steinbach powered a pair of solo shots to draw the Cobras closer. His first home run of the season, Archbold sent one over the right field wall to lead-off the fifth inning. Steinbach followed suit an inning later with his sixth homer of the season, moving into a tie with Lebron for the team lead.
 
The Cobras cut the lead again in the top half of the seventh, Dan Warkentin driving in a two-out RBI with a line drive to center to score Trevor Burkhart.
 
Ricky Castro made the start for Parkland, going two innings and allowed one run on two hits while striking out four Warriors and walking one. Relievers Casey Kempner, Sam Ballard, Logan Pillars and Jordan Walden pitched in relief.
 
Up next, the Cobras will look to win its third conference crown in the last four seasons as it concludes the M-WAC slate with a four-game set against Lincoln Land this weekend. Playing in Springfield on Saturday and in Champaign on Sunday, the Cobras (22-6) currently hold a one-game lead in the loss column over second-place Lewis & Clark (17-7). Lincoln Land sits in third with a record of 16-8.