SURREY, B.C. – A career-best performance by pitcher Zoe Gillis helped the UBC Thunderbirds softball team gain a split against the 14th-ranked Southern Oregon Raiders Sunday at Softball City.
 
The Raiders (26-8, 10-2 CCC) won the first game 13-3 in five innings to sweep the Cascade Collegiate Conference series, before Gillis threw a complete-game three-hit shutout to propel the T-Birds (4-15, 2-8) to a 3-0 win in the non-conference matchup to wrap up the weekend.
 
"Things didn't go our way at all in the first game, it just went south right in the first inning when they got those two hits that could have gone either way," said UBC head coach Gord Collings.
 
"The second game was the best game we've played all season. It's the first time we've beaten Southern Oregon ever. Zoe (Gillis) was outstanding, and our defence was outstanding. I think the tone of the game was set on the first play when Sydney Brown made that fabulous play on the ground ball."
 
On the first play of Game 2, SOU's Kelsey Randall – the NAIA leader in stolen bases with 39 – hit a ball that bounced over UBC pitcher Gillis, but a charging Brown took the ball on a short hop and threw to first in time to get the out.
 

 

Game 1

Southern Oregon opened the first contest Sunday with four runs in the first inning. With two outs and runners on first and second, the Raiders strung together three straight singles – all close to the left field line – to score four.
 
UBC replied right away in the home half of the first. Sydney Brown led off with a hard single up the middle. Paige Harbord beat the throw to first on her sacrifice bunt attempt to earn an infield single instead.
 
Claire Eccles came to the plate and took the eighth pitch of the at-bat over the right-field fence to cut SOU's lead to 4-3.

However, Raiders pitchers Allie Hancock, and relieve Morgan Jones were strong the rest of the way, and held the T-Birds scoreless, while SOU was able to add a pair of runs in the third inning, and four more in the third to put the game away. The visitors scored three runs in the fourth to round out the offence.
 
Kelsey Randall, Hannah Shimek and Karlee Coughlin all had three hits for the Raiders.
 
Eccles, Brown, Harbord, Sierra Sherritt, and Mackenzie Siddall had the hits for UBC.
 

Game 2

Gillis and Coughlin were locked in a pitchers' duel for a majority of the game. Gillis allowed just two SOU runners to reach scoring position over the course of the contest and needed just 83 pitches to complete the win. The game was tied 0-0 until the bottom of the sixth inning when the T-Birds scored all three of their runs.
 
Eccles drew a one-out walk in the sixth before Sherritt delivered a double to the fence in left center. Eccles came home to score the first run of the game.
 
SOU then brought in Gabby Sandoval to pitch. She walked Michaela Moore, and gave up a single to Frances Ramsay before being removed from the game. With Jones now throwing for SOU, Emily Chorpita hit a two-run double to centre field on a 3-1 pitch to score pinch runner Taylore Jones, and Sherritt.
 

 
Asked about what worked well for her in Game 2, Gillis replied, "Just hitting the spots, and finding their weaknesses. The team came out strong together, and I was feeling good as well."
 
UBC travels to Montana next weekend for a series against the Providence (Mont.) Argonauts. The first doubleheader will be played Friday in Missoula on the campus of the University of Montana at 1 p.m. PT. Saturday's twinbill will be in Great Falls, with the first game at 10 a.m. PT.
 
Southern Oregon will host in-state rival Corban (Ore.) next weekend in Ashland.