VANCOUVER – The UBC Thunderbirds (9-1) played their first road games of 2017 in stormy, rain-soaked California over the weekend. The 'Birds travelled to Lancaster for what was supposed to be a three game weekend series with the Antelope Valley Pioneers, but heavy rain saw the game set for Sunday, February 19th rescheduled to Tuesday, February 21st. The 'Birds and Pioneers split the doubleheader played Saturday, February 18th.
Game 1: UBC 3 – UAV 0 (9 innings)
UBC right-hander Conor Noble showed no rust on his 'Blue and Gold' jersey after the winter break. Noble cruised through his six innings of work, scattering five hits, striking out seven and walking only one Pioneer batter.
The 'Birds received all the necessary offence in the top of the sixth inning when an
Anthony Olson triple and a
Geoff Ehresman double produced three runs.
Patrick Van Den Brink and
Christian Botnick shut down the Pioneers in the 7th, 8th and 9th innings to give UBC the 3-0 victory.
Game 2: UAV 16 – UBC (9 innings)
In the second game of the doubleheader, the UBC bats opened up a 4-0 lead in the top of the first.
Mitch Robinson and
Griffy Goyer both knocked three-baggers in the inning. UBC would tack on five more runs over the next five innings and seemed in complete control. But with UBC holding a 9-0 lead in the bottom of the sixth, the pitching went off the rails.
Pioneer batters scorched the 'Birds for 15 hits and 16 runs over the next three innings. The knockout punch was a grand slam delivered by UAV right-fielder William Garcia off T-Bird reliever
Mateos Kekatos. The game ended with UAV on top 16-9.
UBC will play four more games in California, including the make-up game with UAV, before heading northeast to Lewiston, Idaho for a four-game series with conference rivals Lewis-Clark State beginning on February 24th.
