VANCOUVER - After the College of Idaho Coyotes spoiled UBC's home opener, winning the first half of Saturday's double-header 13-4, Eric Brown quieted the visitors' bats in game two, going the distance for a 2-1 win at Thunderbird Park.
Brown was brilliant in the seven-inning nightcap on Saturday, finishing with a line of seven innings pitched, four hits, one run and five strikeouts, but he still found himself pitching in a tie game in the top of the sixth.
The Coyotes had pulled even in the fifth thanks to Ray Santiago's sac fly, but the T-Birds went ahead for good in the bottom of the sixth after a clutch hit from an unlikely source.
Freshman catcher-turned-outfielder Matt Cameron had just four at-bats all season heading into Saturday, but UBC head coach Terry McKaig decided to give him a pinch-hit opportunity in place of Keaton Briscoe with two outs and Mike Elias on second. Cameron hit a line-drive up the middle to cash in Elias, and Brown pitched a spotless seventh inning to give UBC the win.
"We had a lefty-lefty match-up with Keaton there and he hadn't looked too good against (Idaho pitcher Jacob Coats) in his first two at-bats so I thought it would be a good chance to get Matt in there," McKaig said. "He had the best swing of the day and it was a big at-bat for us."
Coats was a good dueling partner for Brown, giving up just two runs on seven hits over six innings of work, but UBC's third-year starter was lights-out en route to his fourth win in as many starts this season.
"That was a big start for us, and that's what Eric has done for three years here," said McKaig. "He seems to always be a calming influence for us and whenever we need a big-time game from him we get it. That was his best game in a long time."
Game one was a rough outing for UBC starter Mark Hardy. He lasted 5.2 innings, giving up five earned runs on five hits and five walks. T-Bird pitchers combined for nine walks in game one, with seven of those runners coming around to score. Ben Rosen picked up the win for the Coyotes, throwing seven innings of one-run ball.
A four-run third inning got the Coyotes an early lead, and they tacked on runs in each of the final four innings to stop any thoughts of a T-Bird comeback. Diego Robles was 3-for-6 with four RBIs in the game. Sammie Starr, Mike Elias, Andrew Firth and Greg Densem all had one RBI for the T-Birds.
UBC is now 15-2 on the year, while Idaho moves to 14-6. The teams finish off their weekend series with another doubleheader on Sunday. The first pitch of game one is scheduled for 11 a.m.
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