SURREY, B.C. – The UBC Thunderbirds and Eastern Oregon Mountaineers split a Cascade Conference softball doubleheader Friday afternoon at Softball City in Surrey, B.C.
The T-Birds (7-4, 4-1 Cascade Collegiate Conference) won the opener 14-5 in five innings before the Mountaineers (3-17, 2-6 CCC) rallied for the 6-4 triumph in Game 2.
"I was pleased with what we did in the first game," said UBC head coach
Gord Collings. "We hit the ball well the whole day, EOU just played a better game in the second game, I give them credit for their fielding, it was really good. I was disappointed with our defence in the finale. We played well in the opener, and that's the way we're capable of playing. If we continue to get better every time out, I think we'll be very competitive."
Game 1
Cassa Courtney and
Emily Chorpita drove in three runs apiece to lead the home side to a run-rule win.
After falling behind 2-0 in the top of the third, UBC replied with four runs in the bottom half of the inning to take a lead it didn't relinquish.
With two outs, Courtney struck out but a passed ball allowed her to reach base, and
Mia Valcke to score.
Damara Begin and
Michaela Moore drew consecutive walks, forcing
Claire Eccles home to tie the game.
Chorpita then singled to left centre to score Courtney and Begin.
EOU closed the deficit to 7-5 in the third inning on Brianna Zweygardt and Jordan Shaw bases-loaded walks.
UBC put the game away by scoring seven times in the fourth inning. The big blow came on Courtney's two-run home run over the fence in center field to push the T-Birds ahead 9-5.
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A fielding error, the first of two in the inning for EOU, allowed
Gabby Freer to touch home plate to make it 10-5.
Taylore Jones then singled up the middle to load the bases. Two batters later, Valcke did the same to plate
Nicole Salas.
A passed ball and wild pitch allowed two more T-Birds to come home, and put the hosts up 13-5. Eccles then came up to the plate and singled for the second time in the inning, to score the final run of the contest.
Rookie UBC pitcher
Shelby Kempel threw the final 2.2 innings of shutout ball to earn her fourth-straight win.
Valcke and Eccles also had two hits in the series opener.
EOU finished the game with five errors.
Game 2
The Mountaineers jumped out to an early 5-0 lead in Game 2 to earn the doubleheader split.
Hannah Rothwell started the scoring with a bases-loaded walk in the first inning. Jordan Henley then singled to left field to plate Shevan DeFreitas to make it 2-0.
Haley Ebner's second-inning single brought home Rayne Spencer to put the visitors ahead by three runs.
Henley came up to bat again, and delivered the second of her three hits in the game, which brought two runners, Ebner and Madison Barr, home.
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Logan Bailey RBI groundout in the home half of the second inning got UBC on the scoreboard, with T-Birds trailing 5-1.
EOU's Shaw added some insurance with a solo home run to right center field in the top of the third, pushing the Mountaineers to a 6-1 edge.
UBC's comeback attempt began with an Eccles RBI single to left center in the bottom of the fourth.
Down 6-2 heading into the bottom of the seventh, the Thunderbirds loaded the bases with no outs.
Moore drew a four-pitch walk to score
Jordan Britten-Yung. Salas then hit a sacrifice fly to cut EOU's lead to 6-4.
Bailey singled to load the bases again, this time with one out. However, pitcher Lauren Spencer, who came into the game earlier in the seventh, induced a flyout and recorded a strikeout to complete the win for the Mountaineers.
EOU starter Jessica Lambert got the win to improve to 1-1.
Henley led the visitors by driving in three runs, while Barr also got three hits.
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While the Mountaineers committed five errors in Game 1, they were outstanding on defence in Game 2, making several spectacular plays, including a second-inning diving catch in right field by Zweygardt, and a backhanded catch in deep left field by Rothwell in the bottom of the fifth.
In the bottom of the sixth, DeFreitas dove from her first base position to corral a grounder and throw the ball to the second-base player for the out. Then Payton Pocklington leapt to her right to snag a line drive for the second out of the inning.
Britten-Yung and Courtney had two hits apiece for UBC, which also got 4.2 innings of shutout pitching from reliever
Kaia Gyorfi.
The teams will play another doubleheader Saturday at Softball City, starting at 11 a.m. The finale, scheduled for 1 p.m., is a non-conference contest.
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