DELTA, B.C. – The UBC Thunderbirds softball team (22-17) earned a signature victory on Thursday in a doubleheader split with the No. 10 Corban (Ore.) Warriors (26-6) at North Delta Community Park.
GAME 1 BOX SCORE /
GAME 2 BOX SCORE
“In the first game, we didn't play very good defence. We struggled somewhat,” said UBC head coach Phil Thom. “But the biggest difference was we never quit, we rebounded and came back. We hit the ball really well in game two and Nicole pitched a great game.”
After dropping the first game today by a score of 8-0, UBC rebounded with a 10-2, five-inning victory, handing the visiting Warriors their first mercy-rule loss of the season. The result also ended a 13-game winning streak for Corban.
After spotting Corban two runs in the first inning of game two, UBC answered back with six runs in a bizarre bottom half of the first.
Carlyn Shimizu (Richmond, BC) led off with a single to right centre field.
Jenna Neufeld (Langley, BC) came to bat and was hit with a pitch from Corban starter Chelsea Schriber. With two runners on base,
Cassandra Dypchey (Surrey, BC) brought them both home with a double to tie the game at 2-2.
The next batter,
Alana Westerhof (Delta, BC), gave UBC the lead with an RBI single.
Lindsay McElroy (Delta, BC) came up to bat and was also plunked.
Molly Gosnell (Sunnyvale, CA) singled to right field to load the bases.
Tayla Westgard (Surrey, BC) stepped up to the plate only to become the third T-Bird to get hit by a pitch in the inning.
The RBI for Westgard knocked Schriber out of the game in favour of Danielle Horne, who proceeded to hit the first batter she faced,
Jamie Randall (Richmond, BC), to give the 'Birds a 5-2 advantage. The final run for UBC came in a fitting fashion when
Quinn Dhaliwal (Delta, BC), pinch-hitting for Neufeld, was hit by a pitch when the bases were loaded. In all, five T-Birds were plunked in the inning, contributing to six runs.
Corban loaded the bases in the top of the second but UBC started
Nicole Day (Surrey, BC) pitched out of a jam by getting the final two outs to keep the score at 6-2 for the T-Birds.
UBC would add four more runs in the bottom of the third inning when Dypchey, Westerhof, and McElroy registered run-scoring hits followed by Gosnell's ground out that scored the game's final run handing the host Thunderbirds a game-ending eight-run lead. From there, Day retired the next six batters to close out the game and improve her record to 6-5.
Five different Thunderbirds – Shimizu, Dypchey, Westerhof, McElroy, and Gosnell – tallied two hits each, while Dypchey drove in three runs.
It is one of the biggest wins in the four-year history of the UBC varsity softball program. On March 20, 2010, the team defeated then-No. 2 Dickinson State 8-5. The Thunderbirds have had a number of close calls against the NAIA's best, including a 1-0 loss earlier this year to Cal State San Marcos, which was ranked No. 1 at the time of the game.
“We had five hit batters but we took advantage of it,” said Thom. “We didn't quit. Once we got past that inning, we got the hits; we earned the last four runs so I was really happy with the way our team played coming back. They didn't get intimidated and it shows we are a good team.”
Thursday's opener began as a pitcher's duel between
Leigh Della Siega (White Rock, BC) and Corban's Jessica Slate before the Warriors erupted for four runs in the top of the third inning, as Stephanie Nippert drove in a pair of runs on a double that allowed seniors Brittany Chestnut and Chynna Sandhop to score after the duo reached base on a fielder's choice and an UBC error. Rachel Conard came to the plate next for the Warriors and brought Nippert home with her seventh home run of the season, as Corban built a four-run lead (4-0).
Westgard went 2-for-3 at the plate to lead UBC offensively.
The same two teams will face off in the final doubleheader of the week at North Delta Park. The first game will begin at 11 a.m.
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