KEIZER, Ore. – A day after capitalizing on the dominant outings of their starting pitchers the UBC Thunderbirds baseball team (29-14, 15-8 NAIA West) got a taste of their own medicine, dropping two games to the Corban Warriors (16-21, 11-12 NAIA West). After winning game one 1-0, the Warriors beat the Thunderbirds 5-2 in game two at Salem-Keizer Volcanoes Stadium.
 
Despite an absolute gem of a game from starting pitcher Connor Noble (Vancouver), who gave up a single earned run in eight innings, the 'Birds batters couldn't provide the run support he needed in the 1-0 loss.
 
As a team, the Thunderbirds totaled five hits in the game-one loss, with no player recording a multi-hit game.
 
Corban catcher Jackson Smith led the game off with a single, and it proved to be a crucial hit for the Warriors. Tyler Reitz pinch ran for Jackson, and he eventually came in to score on a passed ball later in the inning to give Corban the early 1-0 advantage.
 
Reitz then came up big defensively for the Warriors in the fourth. After catching a deep fly ball in left field, he gunned down Lucas Soper (Vancouver) trying to score on the sacrifice fly, keeping UBC off the board and ending the inning in the process.
 
Corban pitcher pitcher Rilyn Lewchuk earned his fifth win of the year, tossing eight scoreless innings while striking out eight UBC batters. Noble took the loss for the 'Birds to see his record fall to 6-4 on the year.
 
In game two, Corban jumped on top in the second inning via an RBI single from Rosas to make it 1-0. Outfielder Zach Penrod extended the lead to 2-0 thanks to an RBI double in the fourth for the Warriors.
 
UBC showed its resiliency, however, and came back with a pair of runs in the fifth. Soper ripped an RBI single to left-center to halve the deficit, and then Bruce Yari (Waterloo, Ont.) hit a sacrifice fly to center field, bringing in the tying run.
 
Corban scored one run in the fifth, sixth, and seventh innings to regain the advantage. Outfielder Benjamin Liogon came up with what turned out to be the game-winning hit, lining a double to left field, scoring Warrior Hayden Calvert on the play.
 
Up 4-2 in the seventh, Calvert made it a 5-2 ballgame when he crushed a ball well over the left field wall, notching his team-leading fifth home run of the 2016 campaign.
 
Thoren earned the win, hurling 2.1 innings in relief while allowing no runs and no hits. Righty Daniel Gober picked up the save for the Warriors. Jeremy Newton (Toronto, Ont.) took the loss for UBC and now is 3-4 on the season.
 
Leading the way for the Thunderbirds were Soper and Yari, as both players tallied a pair of hits in the game-two defeat.
 
UBC will travel back to Point Grey for a week of practice before heading off to Lewiston, Idaho for a four games in three days series with Lewis-Clark State starting Friday, April 15^th.  These games will be absolutely crucial for the 'Birds as they look to solidify playoff positioning in the final days of the 2015-16 season.