DELTA, B.C. – The UBC Thunderbirds softball team concluded a weeklong home stand with a split against the No. 10 Corban Warriors on Friday at North Delta Park.
GAME 1 BOX SCORE /
GAME 2 BOX SCORE
“The big positive was after getting beat four times in the first game, we managed to come back every time to win that second game. Bear down and never say die and it shows that this team can play,” said UBC head coach Phil Thom of his players.
The Thunderbirds and Warriors also got a win each yesterday afternoon. On Friday, UBC fell 11-4 to Corban in game one but came back to secure a 3-0 shutout in game two.
Cassandra Dypchey (Surrey, BC) clubbed a two-run home run over the 225-foot centre field fence in the bottom of the third inning to give UBC a 3-1 lead.
Corban mounted a response right away in the top of the fourth. Brittany Chestnut hit an RBI-single to centre to make it 3-2. The turning point of the game came two batters later with the bases loaded. Stephanie Nippert drove a deep ball down the right field line that landed in foul territory. However, the home plate umpire called the ball fair, allowing Corban to clear the bases against a UBC defence that had stopped playing.
Nippert was credited with a three-RBI triple and the Warriors went up 5-3.
Corban added an insurance run in the fifth before scoring four more in the sixth.
Facing an 11-3 deficit in the bottom of the seventh, UBC managed one more run on a
Lindsay McElroy (Delta, BC) groundout that brought home
Jenna Neufeld (Langley, BC).
Alana Westerhof (Delta, BC) went 2-for-4 at the plate while five other Thunderbirds – Neufield, Dypchey,
Carlyn Shimizu (Richmond, BC),
Molly Gosnell (Sunnyvale, CA), and
Yasmin Bains (Richmond, BC) – tallied hits for the home team.
In game two, Westerhof delivered a masterful pitching performance to lead UBC to victory. She gave up just three hits to the potent Corban offence led by Nippert, who is chasing the NAIA career home run record.
Westerhof was also backed up by solid defensive play by UBC, highlighted by a Gosnell catch in foul territory just before she crashed into a chain-link fence to end the third inning.
The Thunderbirds got the winning run in the bottom of the second inning on a single to centre field by
Tayla Westgard (Surrey, BC) that scored McElroy after she reached base safely on an error by the Warriors to lead off the inning.
Pinch hitter
Quinn Dhaliwal (Delta, BC) gave UBC two more runs in the bottom of the fourth when she singled to bring home Westgard and
Jamie Randall (Richmond, BC), who had been on third and second base respectively. Randall's run came on a close play at the plate but she was ruled to have beaten the tag of Corban catcher Rachel Conard.
Corban threatened to get back into the game in the final two innings. In the sixth, the Warriors got their leadoff hitter on base via a single. But the next batter, Chesnut, lined out to Westerhof, who threw to first base to complete the double play.
In the seventh, Corban had runners on first and third with two outs but Westerhof induced a pop up into foul territory to end the game.
“What more can you ask for? A pitcher who can shut the other team down and then get up to the plate and pound the ball as well? Alana is someone who can do both on a good day and today was one of her many good days,” said Thom.
Five different UBC players – Shimizu, Neufeld, Dhaliwal, Westerhof, and Westgard – tallied hits, as Dhaliwal drove in a game-high two runs for the T-Birds, who improve to 23-18 while Corban falls to 27-7. UBC finished its 10-game homestand in Delta this week with a record of 6-4, which included two wins each over No. 10 Corban and No. 24 Concordia (Ore.).
Today was also the last home game for seven senior T-Birds players,
Brittany Meyer (Delta, BC),
Nicole Day (Surrey, BC), Shimizu, Gosnell, Westerhof, McElroy and Westerhof.
Along with trainer Chris Wong, they were honoured after Friday's doubleheader with bouquets, large collages and other gifts from the rest of the UBC team.
“The kids have shown that if you stick with it, you'll get better, you'll get a great education while playing great softball and you'll represent UBC really well,” said Thom after his seniors were honoured. “These players can play with anybody right now and it's great to see.”
UBC's next action will be on Wednesday, April 10 when they head to Simon Fraser to take on the Clan.
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