VANCOUVER - The UBC Thunderbirds got off to a good start on Sunday but the bullpen couldn't hold the lead in the series finale against Concordia, as the Cavaliers put up five runs in the seventh to grab an 8-3 win in Portland.
BOXSCORE
The 'Birds got three runs in the second, with RBIs from
Brody Hawkins and
Sebastian Wong, as well as an
Austin Fruson steal of home.
Starting pitcher
Alex Graham got through three scoreless innings before giving up a pair in the fourth, making it 3-2 UBC.
Connor Smith took over in the fifth and was solid for two innings, but things came unravelled in the seventh when he allowed each of the first four Cavalier hitters to reach base before
Matt Trimble took over.
Aided by a pair of UBC errors, the Cavs went on to score five runs in the frame, only two of which were earned, They tacked on one more in the eight, and Concorida reliever Cole Shidaki shut the UBC offence down over the final 3.1 innings to earn the win and prevent a T-Birds series sweep.
UBC falls to 21-14 overall and 14-10 in the conference. Concorida improves to 20-23 and 12-16.
"Up 3-2 going into the seventh, but we ran into some bullpen issues with
Connor Smith and then
Matt Trimble not being able to shut them down," said UBC head coach
Terry McKaig. "Them scoring five runs in the seventh was the difference. We didn't do much offensively all day, and we're still struggling to put together consistent offensive innings."
The T-Birds had just five hits in the game, and only two outside their three-run second inning.
Despite that, taking three of four games in a road series with the amount of injuries the T-Birds are dealing with has McKaig and company in good spirits about the weekend as they prepare to return home to host the Oregon Tech Hustlin' Owls next week.
"Three out of four was a good weekend for us, and we'll be ready for Oregon Tech at home," McKaig said.
The T-Birds and Owls will play two doubleheaders next weekend, first on Saturday, April 21 at 12 p.m., and then on Sunday the 22nd beginning at 11 a.m.
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