VANCOUVER - The UBC Thunderbirds swept Friday's doubleheader against the Corban Warriors 4-2 and 10-0, narrowly missing out on a no-hitter in game two as they continued their strong start to conference play.
The T-Birds are now 5-1 in the conference and 12-5 overall.
Starting pitcher
David Otterman threw 6.2 innings of no-hit ball in game two before
Matt Trimble took over and kept the no-no alive into the ninth. Trimble retired the first two batters of the inning before the Warriors finally broke through with their first and only hit of the game.
The T-Birds broke game two open early with three-spots in the first and fourth innings, leaving Otterman and Trimble plenty of room to get comfortable and stay aggressive. Otterman had 11 strikeouts and Trimble sat down four more.
Blake Carruthers went 4-5 with three RBI, and
Nick Senior is still showing no signs of mercy for opposing pitchers, adding three hits and two RBI. UBC combined for 17 hits in the contest.
Game one wasn't quite so easy for the 'Birds, but yet another quality start by
Tavis Bruce proved to be enough for them to pull out a close win.
Bruce is now 4-0 in four starts this year after allowing just two runs, neither of which were earned, over seven innings of work.
Conor Lilis-White grabbed another save with two near-perfect innings of relief work.
A three-run fifth inning put UBC on top for good, and they tacked on one more in the top of the ninth to give Lilis-White a little breathing room.
Sebastian Wong had a solid day at the dish with a 3-4 showing in game one, giving him four hits in total on Friday. Carruthers had an RBI double and
Andrew Firth had two RBI.
The T-Birds have another doubleheader in Salem tomorrow to wrap up their series with Corban. Their next home series is next weekend against Simpson University, beginning on March 17.
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