VANCOUVER — Mirroring Saturday's results, the UBC Thunderbirds (5-3, 10-11) dropped the first half of Sunday's doubleheader to the Corban Warriors (5-3, 7-13-1) before rebounding with a 4-3 win in the series finale, splitting the four-game set at Tourmaline West Stadium.
A rough fourth inning in the first game Sunday saw the Warriors put up five runs en route to a 6-4 win. The 'Birds bounced back in the second game, coming back from a 3-0 deficit to tie the game in the fifth before earning the walkoff win in the bottom of the ninth with a
Brandon Hupe RBI single to left.
"We came out swinging the bats in game one and it looked like we were going to hit some balls at them and then all of a sudden they put together a really good inning," said UBC head coach
Chris Pritchett. "The disappointing thing is we didn't continue to put pressure on them offensively after that. We got behind 3-0 in the second one but our guys were able to battle back and get the win so I do give them credit for that. But certainly when we're at home, a place where I like to think we're comfortable, anything less than winning that series is not really acceptable for us."
GAME ONE
Garrett Hawkins got the start for the first half of Sunday's doubleheader after a complete game win in his first conference start last weekend. He allowed his first runner on base with a Josh Ebert double, but the freshman righty sat down his next three to get out of the inning unscathed.
UBC opened scoring for the second straight game of the series when
Austen Butler hit a two-out RBI-double to right field, his fourth hit of the weekend.
Hupe unleashed his first home run as a Thunderbird in the bottom of the second, a two-run shot to left to give the T-Birds an early 3-0 lead.
Smart base running by the 'Birds led to another run in the bottom of the third. After a Butler leadoff single, the junior outfielder advanced to second on a ground out. Butler then then stole third, eventually scoring when Hupe beat the throw to first for his second RBI of the game.
The Warriors got to Hawkins in the top of the fourth, starting with a two-RBI single from Nate Cantonwine who found the gap in right field, cutting UBC's lead in half. Zack Simon followed up with a double to right scoring Cantonwine, and then Tanner Marsh perfectly placed the ball into right field to plate another pair of runs as Corban took their first lead of the game, 5-4.
Jack Caswell came in to pitch the fifth for UBC and kept his team in the game with a strong outing lasting four and two thirds allowing one earned run on six hits along with six strikeouts.
Following an eventful first four innings, neither team was able to cross the plate again until the top of the ninth when pinch hitter Brendan Yawn hit a bloop single to shallow right, scoring Maxwell Jeffrey from third to give the visitors a two-run advantage.
With UBC down to their final three outs, Corban reliever Jackson Arnsdorf had a quick three-up, three-down inning, picking up the win having pitched the final five innings, while the Warriors earned their second win of the series.
Hawkins was tagged with the loss after allowing five runs on six hits while striking out five and walking two.
GAME TWO
Daniel Sereda took the mound for UBC in the series finale, his first NAIA conference start. Much like his six inning relief performance last weekend, the rookie put up a strong performance.
The Warriors got on the board in the top of the third when Jeffrey singled to centre, scoring Brendan Rodegerdts. With Bell still in scoring position, Sereda got Daniel Freiburger to fly out, limiting the damage to a single run.
Corban added to their lead in the fourth scoring a pair of runs, one on a throwing error provoked by a double steal, and another when John Dodson hit an RBI single to shallow centre.
UBC did some damage of their own in the bottom of the fifth, scoring three runs to tie the game. With the bases loaded and one down,
Noah Or was hit by a pitch to bring in the 'Birds' first run of the game.
Ty Penner followed up with a sacrifice fly, plating
Liam Vulcano. Butler then connected for his third hit of the day, an RBI single to left to bring the tying run across.
The game remained deadlocked at threes until the bottom of the ninth when Hupe got the ball to drop just inside the left field foul line, allowing Weger to score to secure the series split.
James Bradwell picked up the win for the 'Birds after coming in to pitch the seventh. The junior reliever went three innings allowing just a single hit, no runs, no walks, while striking out two in a performance that impressed the T-Birds' coaching staff.
"In both games we got some good relief pitching that gave us a chance," said Pritchett. "I thought the guys that came out of the pen, especially
Jack Caswell with an extended outing, and
James Bradwell, they picked up the slack and really kept us in both games, that was a good sign for our bullpen."
Now 5-3 in conference play, the 'Birds head on the road for the first time to visit the Oregon Tech Hustlin' Owls for a pair of doubleheaders next Saturday and Sunday in Klamath Falls.
"I do think this team will continue to get better and even when you lose you really have a chance to take steps forward because you really get to see pieces you can work on. It's nice to win but sometimes the big changes come when you lose ball games."
