SURREY, B.C. – The UBC Thunderbirds (10-13, 13-20) earned a critical doubleheader sweep over the visiting Northwest University Eagles (5-18, 12-30) Friday at Softball City in South Surrey.
Emma Tuson pitched a gem for the 'Birds in game one while getting some good run support for a 6-0 victory while Senior
Zoe Gillis picked up where Tuson left off earning the second complete game shutout of the day in a thrilling 1-0 UBC win in the second half.
With two down and runners on first and second,
Michaela Moore hit a perfectly placed ball to centre-right for the walk off RBI single as the 'Birds creep closer to their goal of securing a berth in the conference championship tournament.
"The seniors came through for us today and our pitchers just hung in there and did their job," said UBC head coach
Gord Collings. "I'm very, very pleased with their effort today."
Game One
Tuson got into a bit of trouble in the top of the first with runners on first and second and only one down but she managed to get herself out of the jam without allowing a run across and never looked back.
The 'Birds got on the board in the bottom half with a
Claire Eccles RBI single scoring
Sydney Brown from third.
Both Tuson and Northwest's Hannah Yelas settled in with neither allowing anything through the next three innings as the 'Birds held a 1-0 lead into the fifth when UBC broke things open with a three run frame.
Eccles hit her first of two doubles in the game to score Brown from second giving UBC a 2-0 advantage. Frances Ramsey then brought two more runs across with a single to centre.
Already up by four, the T-Birds tacked on another two in the bottom of the sixth. Eccles' third hit of the day brought
Taylore Jones across the plate. Eccles then scored herself on a
Michaela Moore hit to the outfield.
Tuson earned her seventh win of the season allowing no runs on just five hits with four strikeouts and just a single walk.
"She was just in cruise control after that one inning she got in trouble, she managed to take a deep breath, get back out there and do the job," said Collings of his ace. "I was very impressed with how she was supported in the outfield too. Paige (Harbord) made two great catches, one over the fence and one over her head. She got support from the other players and that's making a big difference when they feed off each other like that, it's great."
Game Two
The 'Birds threatened to open scoring in the bottom of the first with the bases loaded and two out but Northwest pitcher Rachel Hawley got
Sierra Sherritt to pop out.
Following an uneventful second inning, the Eagles were poised to cash in in the third after three consecutive two-out singles loaded the bases. But UBC's
Zoe Gillis got Carly Tighe to pop out and end the threat.
Despite allowing eight hits, Gillis held Northwest off the board picking up her fourth win of the season thanks to Moore's walkoff heroics.
"Zoe did a tremendous job, she got into a hole a couple times but she did really, really well and battled her way out of it," added Collings.
The doubleheader sweep pushed the 'Birds into sole possession of the sixth and final conference playoff berth after the College of Idaho split their pair of games against Northwest Christian to fall one game back of UBC.
The T-Birds will look for the series sweep over the Eagles with the finale set for 11:00 a.m. PT Saturday followed by a non-conference game, both at Softball City.
