VANCOUVER – An eight-run second inning was the difference as the No. 16 Westmont (Calif.) Warriors defeated the UBC Thunderbirds 9-6 in a non-conference baseball game on Sunday in Santa Barbara, Calif.
 
UBC opened the scoring in the top of the first inning when second baseman Anthony Olson (Edmonton) scored on a wild pitch.
 
However, the host Warriors replied with eight runs on five hits and a pair of UBC errors in the home half of the second. The big blow came off the bat of Westmont designated hitter Jarrett Costa, who hit a grand slam home run to right centre field.
 
The T-Birds got back to work, posting four runs in the top of the third. Third baseman Anthony Cusati (Burnaby, B.C.) drove an RBI single to right centre to score Griff Goyer (Burnaby, B.C.). DH Max Hollingworth (Port Coquitlam, B.C.) then singled through the left side to bring home right fielder Bruce Yari (Waterloo, Ont.). Cusati eventually scored on a balk that moved Hollingworth to third. He then scored on a wild pitch to bring UBC to within three runs at 8-5.
 
The teams then traded home runs to round out the scoring.
 
Alika McGuire hit a homer to right centre in the bottom of the sixth inning, before Goyer hit a 1-2 pitch over the right centre wall for his first round-tripper of the season.
 
Playing centre field, Goyer finished the day with three hits and two runs scored in five plate appearances. First baseman Will Nitransky (Niagara Falls, Ont.) had the other hit for the T-Birds.
 
UBC will face the 10th-ranked Mustangs of The Master's College (Calif.) in Santa Clarita, Calif., on Monday at 2 p.m.