VANCOUVER - The UBC Thunderbirds trip to Medford, Oregon this weekend required an unfriendly stop in Bellingham along the way. UBC played Western Washington in a one-game series Thursday afternoon, coming up short in losing 5-3 to the host Vikings.
BOX SCORE
Coming off back-to-back wins to end last weekend in Clackamas, Oregon, the Thunderbirds were hoping to sustain their momentum heading into this weekend's Southern Oregon Tournament. Unfortunately for them, the Vikings pitching staff were more than up to the task. Jenna DeRosier and Anisa Wingsness combined for seven innings, allowing just 12 base runners and three runs.
The Vikings were also aided by a fourth-inning throwing error by UBC catcher
Lindsay McElroy (Delta, BC) that led to a run, extending their early lead to 5-1. Western Washington had put up a four-run third inning to open the scoring earlier, plating four despite just two hits thanks to a pair of walks and a passed ball on the UBC side.
The Thunderbirds tried to come back, with reigning A.I.I. Athlete of the week
Alana Westerhof (Delta, BC) belting her sixth home run of the season in the seventh. The two-run shot was too little, too late, though, coming with one out and leaving UBC precious little time to continue the comeback.
Starter
Nicole Day (Surrey, BC) was charged with five runs, only four earned, on seven hits and three walks in her 3.1 innings.
Jamie Randall (Richmond, BC) surrendered three walks but just a single hit over 2.2 innings.
At the plate, the Thunderbirds got two-hit games from
Cassandra Dypchey (Surrey, BC), McElroy and
Molly Gosnell (Sunnyvale, California) but just couldn't string multiple hits together often enough to create runs. In total, UBC left nine runners on base and went 3-for-13 with runners on.
Both of Dypchey's hits were doubles, and she also reached on a walk, scoring twice. Dypchey is now batting .457 with a team-high 12 runs scored through 14 games.
The loss drops the Thunderbirds to 6-8 in the early going, with five games to follow this weekend. Western Washington improved to 8-6 with the win. UBC will now head to Medford for a five-game weekend, starting on Friday at 3 p.m. against Southern Oregon University.
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