VANCOUVER – A wild comeback, keyed by a fifth inning offensive explosion earned the UBC Thunderbirds (12-4, 2-1) a doubleheader split against defending NAIA World Series champions Lewis-Clark (Idaho) State (6-3, 1-2).
The two games were played Saturday afternoon at Harris Field in Lewiston, Idaho.
Game One – Lewis Clark 3 – UBC 1 (9 innings)
UBC third baseman
Mitch Robinson continued his torrid hitting pace in 2017 by launching a solo home run in the top of the third. Unfortunately, he would be the only T-Bird to cross the plate during the game.
In the bottom of the third, a
Niall Windeler wild pitch, directly followed by a Brandon Allemann wild throw, allowed Lewis-Clark leadoff hitter Raymond Pedrina to advance from first to third. Pedrina then scored on Matt Thompson's sacrifice fly.
The Warriors would add single runs in the fourth and six innings
Lewis-Clark starting pitcher Connor Brogdon shut the door on the 'Birds after the Robinson dinger, scattering eight hits over seven innings and allowing just one earned run to take the victory. Warrior closer Anthony Balderas pitched a perfect eighth and ninth innings to earn the save.
Windeler allowed the three Lewis-Clark runs over five innings pitched to take the loss.
Game Two – UBC 20 – Lewis-Clark 14 (9 innings)
In a frantic game that saw 34 runs, 29 hits and five fielding errors, the 'Birds overcame an 11-1 deficit to come all the way back for the 20-14 victory.
After Lewis-Clark scored 11 runs over the first four innings and chased UBC starter
Tyler Gillies, the 'Birds bats absolutely exploded in the top of the fifth. A
Vinny Martin RBI triple keyed a nine run rally, in an inning that saw UBC bring 13 batters to the plate.
But the 'Birds weren't done yet. They went on to score six more runs in the sixth inning and four runs in the eighth.
UBC pitcher
Brad Smith, who entered the game in relief of Gillies, held the fort for UBC and ended up taking the win.
Patrick van den Brink came in to pitch the ninth against the top of the Lewis-Clark order. After plunking Raymond Pedrina, Van Den Brink got Evan Douglas to pop out and then struck out Gunner Buhner.
Martin finished with four RBIs on the day, while
Nick Spillman and
Anthony Cusati drove in three apiece for the 'Birds.
The two teams play once more Sunday afternoon at 11:45 AM PT in Lewiston, Idaho.
