VANCOUVER - The UBC Thunderbirds looked poised to add one more win to their current streak when they led 4-0 on Friday against Menlo heading to the eighth, but the tides changed quickly when the Oaks posted an eight-run inning to hand the 'Birds their first loss in three weeks by a score of 8-4 at Thunderbird Park.
Sean Callegari went seven scoreless innings to start for UBC, allowing just three hits and two walks, with four strikeouts. Reliever
Curtis Taylor had been lights-out to start the season, entering the contest with an ERA just over one, but he was touched up for five runs on four hits and a walk before
Alex Webb took over with two outs in the eighth. Webb fared no better, surrendering another three runs on four hits as the Oaks sent 11 men to the plate in the frame.
Offensively the T-Birds did a nice job against Menlo ace Daniel Chavez, who brought a 1.55 ERA into this contest. They struck first in the third inning, when
Bryan Arthur's RBI single brought
Tyson Popoff home. Then in the sixth they took what seemed at the time like a fairly commanding lead, with RBI singles from each of
Tyler Enns,
Cam Firth and
Sebastian Wong.
That was the end of Chavez's day. His line was six innings, with four runs allowed on nine hits, one walk and only one strikeout. With that kind of damage done against a bonafide ace starter, it looked like the 'Birds might break the game open when John Schott took over in relief, as he's allowed eight runs in eight appearances and 8.2 innings of work this year.Â
But Schott silenced the T-Bird bats for a full three innings to pick up the win on Friday. He didn't allow a hit or a walk, and was just one batter over the minimum for his three innings due to a fielding error. He didn't strike anyone out either, giving the Oaks pitching staff a combined total of one strikeout in the game, but Schott got six groundouts out of the 10 batters he faced, and only two balls were put in play that made it out of the infield while he was on the mound.
Matt Spillman was 2-for-4.
Jerod Bartnik was 1-for-4 with a double and a run scored.
Bruce Yari was 1-for-3 with a walk and a run scored.
For the Oaks, James Threw led the charge with a 2-for-3 day that included a triple, two RBIs and a walk. Sam Shapiro also had a triple and an RBI in the eighth. Chris Freeman was 2-for-4 with an RBI. Mickey Phelps went 1-for-3 with a walk and an RBI.Â
UBC falls to 18-6 overall and 10-3 in conference play. Menlois 17-17 overall and 5-8 in the conference. The teams have a doubleheader scheduled for noon on Saturday, and they wrap up with game four on Sunday at 11 a.m.Â
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